Coinbase Pauses Staking Services in Several US States Amid SEC Lawsuit
Coinbase, the US-based cryptocurrency exchange, has temporarily paused its staking services in four states in response to legal proceedings from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In a blog post on July 14, Coinbase announced that it was temporarily suspending its retail staking service in California, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.
This decision comes in response to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing a lawsuit against the crypto exchange in June for offering unregistered securities.
In addition to the SEC lawsuit, regulatory bodies in 10 US states initiated legal proceedings, suspending certain services.
"We strongly disagree with any allegation that our staking services are securities," Coinbase wrote. "But we will fully comply with the preliminary state orders where required, even though that comes before we've had an opportunity to defend ourselves."
However, it is essential to note that only the regulatory actions in California, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Wisconsin require a pause in staking additional assets.
These states have requested changes to the staking services while the legal proceedings related to such services are ongoing.
Cryptocurrencies that were staked before the issuance of these orders will remain unaffected by the temporary suspension.
Users based in Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Vermont, and Washington will continue to be eligible to stake their crypto as before the regulatory actions were taken.
A pre-motion hearing between the US SEC and Coinbase, initially scheduled for August but held on July 13, offered insights into the litigation's tone and potential impact on the broader crypto industry.
During the hearing, which lasted over two hours, Judge
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