Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield Files Securities Enforcement Action Against Coinbase

In a surprising twist of events, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, who is affiliated with the Democratic Party, filed a securities enforcement action against Coinbase Global Inc.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, a Democrat, is filing a securities enforcement action against Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN).

What Happened: Rayfield will be picking up from where former SEC Chair Gary Gensler left in asserting that Coinbase has over the years operated an unregistered securities exchange and a broker-dealer.

“In case you think I’m jumping to conclusions, the AG’s office made it clear to us that they are literally picking up where the Gary Gensler SEC left off. Seriously,” Paul Grewal, the Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, said.

Grewal said the lawsuit may hamper efforts by bipartisan lawmakers to pass comprehensive federal legislation for digital assets.

“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 backward from hard-won progress,” Grewal said.

The U.S. SEC, under the Donald Trump administration, dismissed the Coinbase case with prejudice, which means the case was permanently closed and cannot be brought back to the court. However, Oregon’s AG case against Coinbase changes the dynamics amid the ongoing global trade war.

The announcement did not have any impact on Coinbase services or its stock market on Friday.

The mainstream confidence in Coinbase has grown in the recent past with the anticipated crypto regulatory framework ahead.

Coinbase said it will cooperate fully with Oregon’s AG office and do everything possible to gain a swift resolution in court.