Oregon Is Trying To Revive Regulation by Enforcement

As everyone knows, the war against crypto waged by the previous SEC and its allies is over—crypto won. The SEC finally caught up with the reality that the vast majority of digital assets are not securities—and that there is widespread public support for this revolutionary technology. At last, the US showed it was ready to turn the page on that dark, misguided chapter of unlawfully targeting the industry.  

But Oregon’s Attorney General refuses to face that reality and is trying to fight the same war all over again. We’ve learned that today he will file a securities enforcement action against Coinbase asserting the same stale, repeatedly refuted theories that the SEC rightly disavowed (with prejudice) when it dismissed its case against Coinbase. These hand-me-down arguments are years out of date and defy public opinion, technological progress, and good governance.

Let there be no doubt: Oregon’s lawsuit, like the SEC’s, is meritless, and Coinbase will do whatever is required to beat it. 

But no lawsuit is harmless. In fact, Oregon’s lawsuit directly undermines constructive policymaking happening in DC. Bipartisan momentum has never been stronger to pass comprehensive federal legislation for digital assets—legislation that would enable domestic crypto businesses to thrive while preventing rogue state governments from bringing politically motivated actions against crypto firms. Yet instead of waiting for Democrats and Republicans in Congress to enact clear rules of the road, Oregon has taken it upon itself to try to regulate a worldwide industry through enforcement.  

Oregon’s holdout campaign is obstruction for the sake of obstruction. It is a desperate scheme that does nothing to move the crypto conversation forward, and in fact takes us a giant leap backwards from hard-won progress.

Coinbase customers in Oregon and elsewhere can rest easy—we remain business as usual in the state and we are prepared to see this case, like others, through as far as necessary. We do not and will never shrink from fighting injustice, and we will never stop standing up for our customers and the industry.