Coinbase: Tokens are not securities; judge does not rule on SEC v. Coinbase case

Headlines

▌Coinbase: Its listed tokens are not securities

United States New York District Judge Katherine Polk Failla was in court on Wednesday to examine whether Coinbase’s tokens listed on its exchange are securities. Coinbase attorney William Savitt delves into the definition of a security, pointing out what they say is the difference between investing in Beanie Baby Inc. and buying Beanie Babies. In its June 2023 complaint, the SEC stated that tokens such as SOL, ADA, MATIC, FIL, SAND, AXS, CHZ, FLOW, ICP, NEAR, VGX, DASH and NEXO are securities.  

Savitt pointed out that Coinbase does not claim that the tokens listed on its website can never be considered securities. We do not believe that token transactions can ever be investment contracts, however, the SEC did not raise any allegations in its lawsuit that meet the definition of an investment contract. Coinbase agrees with the SEC that entering into an investment contract does not require the buyer to sign a formal contract. However, the fact that a token buyer reads the white paper and other information about the token project does not mean that they are purchasing an investment contract.  

Savitt also refuted the SEC’s argument that the sale of tokens on Coinbase should be considered an investment contract simply because the token project may have made certain promises to the buyer, and the purchaser People buy tokens in the hope that the price will rise.

▌The U.S. judge has not yet made a ruling on whether to dismiss the SEC v. Coinbase case

US New York Judge Katherine Polk Failla did not rule today on whether to dismiss the SEC v. Coinbase case. Failla's final decision is expected to be made in the next few weeks, but she did not hint at a timetable.  

Judge Failla touched on several key rulings in SEC crypto cases, including the agency’s loss against Ripple and victory in the Terraform Labs lawsuit. Failla also admitted there was some significant hesitation about invoking the "key option" of the so-called "significant issues doctrine".

Quotes

As of press time, according to coinmarketcap data:

The recent transaction price of BTC was 42,765.9 US dollars, with fluctuations during the day. Frame+0.71%;

ETH Recent The transaction price was US$2531.68, and the intraday increase or decrease-0.30%;< /p>

BNB’s recent transaction price was US$309.1, with an intraday increase or decrease of -0.96% strong>;

The recent transaction price of strong>%;

The recent transaction price of DOGE was US$0.0805, with intraday changes +0.55%;

ADA’s recent transaction price was US$0.5279, with intraday gains and losses+0.27%;

SOL’s latest transaction price was US$102.75, intraday increase or decrease< span style="color: rgb(0, 176, 80);">+3.36%.

Policies

▌Coinbase Chief Legal Officer: Coinbase does not To provide securities, the SEC cannot unilaterally expand and redefine the scope of supervision

Paulgrewal.eth, chief legal officer of Coinbase, posted on the It is clear: the US SEC continues to have broad powers over all investments, while providing no restrictive principles for its definition of investment contracts. The SEC cannot unilaterally expand and redefine its regulatory scope. This should be decided by Congress and the ongoing legislative discussions on the regulatory framework. Coinbase, which does not offer securities, is confident in our legal arguments and looks forward to a court decision that will bring clarity to the industry.

Blockchain Applications

▌NEAR Protocol: AstroDAO application will be launched later this month Decommissioning sometime

NEAR Protocol stated on the X platform that later this month, the Pagoda development team will deactivate the AstroDAO application and redirect developers to Astra++. This is a A DAO application built and managed by NDC (NEAR Digital Collective community team), the astrodao.com login page will be navigated to the Astra++ page.

▌Mercuryo and Ledger partner to launch personalized private crypto banking solution

Payments Basics Facility platform Mercuryo announced its partnership with Ledger to launch Mercuryo Pro, a personalized private crypto banking solution. It is reported that Mercuryo Pro is now available to high net worth individuals and companies, supporting the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH, SOL, Euro-backed stablecoins and more options) and fiat currencies without any upper limit.

▌MetaMask is testing a “transaction routing” feature aimed at changing the way users interact with the blockchain How to interact

MetaMask is testing a "transaction routing" feature designed to change the way users interact with the blockchain, providing optimal execution and an improved user experience. The new feature could transform MetaMask into an "intent-centric" protocol, meaning users will be able to rely on third parties to find the best path for transactions, circumvent certain key risks, and remove power from the proposal zone. Validators transfer blocks (to earn fees and MEV) to users who submit transactions. It is reported that the new routing technology was developed by Special Mechanism Group and will eventually be available to third parties.

▌THORChain announced the RUNEVault 2.0 proposal to optimize the LP experience

THORChain published a new proposal on its GitLab page, announcing the details of RUNEVault 2.0. The proposal aims to improve the user experience of liquidity providers, especially for those users who participate in providing liquidity but face poor experience with dual liquidity providers (Dual-LP).  

The core of RUNEVault 2.0 is to allow RUNE holders to stake RUNE in RUNEVault to obtain RUNE-based income, which reflects the performance of all liquidity providers in the pool. Rather than selecting a specific asset pool, RUNEVault participants invest in all pools together, sharing in the performance of the entire protocol.

▌Unstoppable Domains partners with Push Protocol to launch token gating Group chat function

Unstoppable Domains has partnered with the decentralized communication protocol Push Protocol to announce the launch of a token-gated group chat function for Unstoppable Messaging. It is reported that through verifiable blocks Chain records and tokens restrict access to specific communities, and group chats are designed to eliminate the spread of misinformation and scams, such as phishing, spam bots, project impersonation, and social engineering-based attacks.

Cryptocurrency

▌Coinbase lawyer: Tokens traded on exchanges are not regulated SEC GOVERNED SECURITIES

Coinbase lawyer William Savitt said during a New York federal court hearing that buying cryptocurrencies on the exchange is more like collecting Beanie Babies, a woolen item that was popular in the United States in the 1990s. stuffed animals) instead of investing in stocks or bonds. Attorney William Savitt said that tokens traded on exchanges are not securities subject to SEC jurisdiction because buyers do not acquire any rights during the purchase process like buying stocks or bonds.

▌BlackRock US iShares Product Director: The funds flowing into IBIT come from retail investors and new investors

BlackRock US iShares product director Rachel Aguirre said in an interview with Bloomberg that the funds flowing into BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) came from retail investors and new investors.  

Golden Finance previously reported that data from Bloomberg Intelligence showed that IBIT’s net flow reached US$710 million in the first three trading days, surpassing Fidelity, Bitwise and other competitors.

▌Grayscale CEO: GBTC’s 1.5% management fee is reasonable

Grayscale Investment CEO Michael Sonnenshein said that GBTC’s 1.5% management fee (the highest among all spot Bitcoin ETFs currently on the market) is reasonable based on the company’s “size, Liquidity and Track Record”. Sonnenshein said: "As an investor, when you choose among these products, fees are a consideration, and so are the asset managers, the issuers behind them, but size, Liquidity and track record should also be considerations”.  

Since the SEC approved GBTC’s conversion to an ETF last week, the fund has seen about $1.2 billion in outflows, according to data compiled so far by Bloomberg Intelligence. With the exception of GBTC, all other spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of approximately $1.9 billion.

▌Report: 2+ years of crypto experience in the past five years The annual growth rate of developers is 51%, reaching an all-time high

According to a new developer report released by Electric Capital, the total number of monthly active cryptocurrency developers in 2023 fell by 25% year-on-year, but Those developers who have been in the field for a long time are showing more resilience than before.  

Developers with more than two years of cryptocurrency experience have experienced an annual growth rate of 51% over the past five years, reaching an all-time high. Developers who have been working in cryptocurrency for at least a year grew 15% year over year and accounted for 63% of all monthly active developers.

▌QCP Report: From Ethereum may outperform Bitcoin in the medium term

QCP Capital said in its latest market update report that Ethereum could outperform Bitcoin in the medium term as the market anticipates the possible approval of an Ethereum spot ETF. May continue to outperform Bitcoin. Data shows that the ETH/BTC exchange rate has risen from 0.05 to 0.06 in the past week. The QCP report added: “The next major cryptocurrency event is the Bitcoin halving in mid-April and the possibility of approval of a spot Ethereum ETF in May.”

Important Economic Developments

▌Federal Reserve Beige Book: There has been little significant change in economic activity

Federal Reserve Economic Conditions The Beige Book showed that most of the 12 Federal Reserve districts reported little noticeable change in economic activity since the last Beige Book was released. Consumers in most regions increased their spending during the holiday season, with spending exceeding expectations in three regions. Several regions cited growth in leisure travel. Nearly all regions reported declines in manufacturing activity. Regions continue to point to high interest rates as limiting car sales and real estate transactions. However, many contacts across regions see the prospect of lower interest rates as a source of optimism. Overall, most regions said their businesses' expectations for future growth are positive, improving, or both.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌Why Bitcoin spot ETFs are so important

ETFs legitimize Bitcoin and allow institutions to hold Bitcoin through their existing services. Financial advisors can now easily include Bitcoin in their investment portfolios. Since Bitcoin has little correlation to many traditional assets and is highly volatile, adding an ETF to your portfolio (say, 1%) will provide you with a better performing Sharpe Ratio. It doesn't take much thinking, adding ETFs to your long-term asset management strategy is a smart move.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and not as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment philosophy and be sure to increase your risk awareness.