SEC Bolsters Case Against Coinbase, Binance with Insider Trading Judgment

Crypto News- The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is aiming to fortify its lawsuit against several crypto trading platforms, including Coinbase and Binance.US, by tapping into a recent insider trading judgment, according to new court documents.

Asserting the relevance of an ‘insider trading’ case, the SEC recently secured a default judgment against Sameer Ramani, implicated in benefiting from insider trading information linked to Coinbase’s former product manager, Ishan Wahi.

SEC Bolsters Case Against Coinbase, Binance with Insider Trading Judgment

In a significant move, the SEC highlighted this judgment in a notice, underscoring its pertinence in the ongoing litigation against Coinbase and others. The court ruled that certain digital assets constituted securities when traded on secondary market platforms, sparking concerns among industry players.

Referencing the judgment, the SEC emphasized its stance on tokens traded on secondary markets as securities, drawing from the Howey test. This development has intensified scrutiny within the crypto community.

Coinbase and other platforms have swiftly responded to the SEC’s actions. In a filing on Mar. 5, Coinbase challenged the weight of the SEC’s default judgment against Ramani, stressing that it was obtained against an absentee defendant and therefore lacked credibility.

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s legal chief, dismissed the significance of default judgments, emphasizing the absence of contestation from the defendant. He likened the situation to the SEC pushing against an open door, implying the lack of resistance from the accused.

Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, echoed similar sentiments, equating reliance on default judgments to a futile endeavor, drawing an analogy to a one-sided boxing match.

The confrontation between regulatory authorities and crypto platforms intensifies as legal battles unfold, shaping the future landscape of the digital asset ecosystem.