Coinbase’s CLO foresees a major shift in the U.S. SEC’s crypto enforcement strategy

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, expects to see a significant shift in the creation and enforcement of crypto regulations under Trump’s regime. He believes it’s about time the government understood that people just want more clarity and innovation in the digital assets space. Grewal suggested that the industry should be allowed to evolve to match its users’ needs and enthusiasm.

Grewal said the 52 million Americans who’ve owned digital assets spoke loudly during the just-concluded elections. He emphasized that the crypto community wanted the ‘crypto issue’ to remain nonpartisan. The Coinbase CLO urged both Democrats and Republicans to step up and join forces in establishing sensible regulations that ensured the crypto space was treated fairly under the law.

Grewal foresees overhaul of the U.S. SEC’s crypto stance

"That's what the 52M Americans who've owned a digital asset want," $COIN Chief Legal Officer @iampaulgrewal.

"They want to see this issue remain nonpartisan, they want to see Democrats and Republicans step up and pass sensible rules on market structure and stablecoins…to make… https://t.co/qbur7Du8DU pic.twitter.com/eAwSLET0QQ

— Julia Krieger ????️ (@jnkrieger) November 5, 2024

The Coinbase CLO has predicted massive changes in the U.S. SEC’s crypto caseload under a new Trump-appointed chair. He believes that the new administration will look at the existing crypto cases under Gary Gensler from a fresh perspective to determine which were purely fraudulent and which were not. According to Fox Business’s Eleanor Terrett, Grewal stopped short of saying he believed the cases against crypto firms, including Coinbase, for securities violations would be discarded.

Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO, said the next U.S. SEC chair should withdraw all frivolous cases and issue an apology to Americans. He added that while the apology would not undo the harm already caused, it would definitely start the process of restoring trust in the U.S. SEC as a regulatory institution.

Grewal seemed confident that a change at the top and clear regulations warranted a ‘fresh pair of eyes.’ He said it was time to stop suing crypto and start talking crypto instead. “There’s no reason to wait,” he added. The Coinbase chief legal officer suggested that the speed at which the crypto space evolved called for a collaborative approach that fostered understanding and growth. He added that working together would ensure a future where crypto’s full potential could be realized.

“I hope @SECGov understands what has happened…the voters said loud and clear that they want change. Crypto is no exception.”

–Paul Grewal 

Trump’s promise to shake up crypto regulations by firing the U.S. SEC chair Gary Gensler on his first day in office showed his plans to push for pro-crypto policies. Hester Pierce, a crypto-friendly U.S. SEC Commissioner, was one of the candidates rumored to be a potential replacement for Gensler.

Coinbase to start by pushing for policy changes in its own backyard 

In other matters related to policy changes in the crypto industry, Coinbase faced scrutiny over charging high token listing fees. Justin Sun and Andre Cronje confirmed that Coinbase requested millions of dollars in fees for token listing. 

TRON’s Sun claimed that Coinbase asked for over $300 million to list the TRX token. Additionally, Coinbase requested 500 million TRX worth approximately $80 million and an additional $250 million worth of Bitcoin to be deposited in Coinbase’s custody.

Cronje similarly alleged that Coinbase had proposed listing fees between $30 million and $300 million for the FTM token. 

In response to these allegations, Coinbase’s CEO Armstrong insisted that token listing on Coinbase was free as long as the tokens met the threshold. 

However, Moonrock Capital’s CEO Simon Dedic expressed skepticism about Armstrong’s claims after facing a similar issue with Binance.