Coinbase Files Amicus Brief in Ripple’s Case, Highlights SEC’s Overreach

Coinbase officially backed Ripple Labs in its legal battle against the SEC, which dates back to 2020. The crypto exchange submitted an amicus brief (a form of expert testimony) on Monday to support Ripple, urging the court to “deny the SEC’s motion for summary judgment on this issue.”

Coinbase Joins 11 Other Companies to Support Ripple Labs

Crypto exchange Coinbase filed an amicus brief with the ​​US District Court for the Southern District of New York in support of Ripple Labs’s fair notice defense against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The move means that Coinbase is now officially backing Ripple in its legal battle against the US regulator, which started two years ago.

In addition to Coinbase, Blockchain Association and ten other entities have also filed their amicus briefs to support Ripple Labs. An amicus brief represents a written submission filed by an individual or group that is not a party to a legal case but is rather meant to influence the court’s decision.

“Enforcement actions should not be the primary means by which the SEC makes known
what it considers to be illegal. This is particularly true when it comes to regulating emerging U.S.
industries, like the cryptocurrency sector, which can be driven overseas by unexpected
enforcement litigation, leaving customers without protection.”

– AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OF COINBASE, INC.

Coinbase also argued that government agencies should not be able to condemn conduct as a breach of the law without previously providing fair notice. The crypto exchange said “the SEC has lost sight of this bedrock principle” by taking legal action against XRP coin sellers after publicly declaring those transactions as lawful.

“Given the absence of SEC rulemaking for the cryptocurrency industry, the question of
whether the SEC has given fair notice before bringing an enforcement action against sales of one of the thousands of unique digital assets will often be highly fact-intensive, which makes it
particularly ill-suited for adjudication on summary judgment.”

– Coinbase added in the brief.

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Ripple Labs CEO Says He Would Make a Settlement With SEC if it Admits XRP is Not a Security

The SEC sued Ripple and its executives back in December 2020, accusing the crypto firm of conducting an illegal securities offering (ICO) through sales of XRP tokens worth more than $1.38 billion.

Coinbase’s filing comes a month after two companies including TapJets and I-Remit filed their own amicus briefs to back Ripple. The briefs were filed after the court ruled that the SEC has to hand the Hinman documents over to Ripple, which was seen as a major victory for the crypto company.

Several days later, CEO of Ripple Labs Brad Garlinghouse said he expects the legal dispute between his company and the SEC to be resolved in 2023. He said Ripple Labs would be open to making a settlement with the SEC as long as the agency admits that XRP is not a security.

Do you expect Ripple Labs to win its legal battle against the SEC? Let us know in the comments below.