This is Why the SEC is Suing Coinbase and Binance

The US Securities and Exchange Commission made its way into the headlines in the past two days, by going after two of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, alleging them of selling unregistered securities.

While the SEC Chair claims these actions are for the greater good of investors, the CEO of Ripple – Brad Garlinghouse – believes there’s another reason.

FTX, Anyone?

In the span of just 24 hours, the SEC launched two high-tier lawsuits against two of the industry’s most prominent heavyweights – Binance and Coinbase.

Although they have some differences in the details, both lawsuits are quite similar in their core as they allege that the two exchanges are selling (and issuing in the case of Binance) unregistered securities in the form of various digital assets such as BNB, BUSD, SOL, MATIC, ADA, and others.

Interestingly, the lawsuits failed to mention Ripple’s native token XRP – even though the SEC has been in a legal battle against the blockchain company for over two years in regard to the same. Nevertheless, the firm’s CEO, who has openly criticized the securities regulator multiple times in the past, decided to weigh in on the matter.

Garlinghouse didn’t agree with Gary Gensler’s official story that the Commission is working toward “pro-innovation.” In fact, he asserted that the regulator is trying to make amends as it failed to prevent the loud FTX crash last year.

Moreover, Ripple’s head further blamed Gensler and its agency for overreaching as they don’t have the “power that he so desperately craves.”

It’s embarrassing to watch an unelected bureaucrat flail like this to mask the fact that he and his agency don’t have the power that he so desperately craves. No one is fooled.

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) June 6, 2023

What Did Gensler Say?

Gary Gensler was welcomed by the crypto community at first after his appointment, given his blockchain-related background. However, that all turned against those who hoped for clear and rapid regulations as he and his agency have failed to provide regulatory frameworks, unlike other countries.

While giving a couple of interviews following the latest lawsuits, Gensler said the SEC only has to prove that one of the aforementioned crypto assets is a security, which will start the domino effect.

“All we have to show is that one of them is a security, and they should be properly registering and having rule books against fraud and manipulation as an exchange, broker, and the like.”