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Cryptocurrency

US tightens crackdown on crypto with lawsuits against Coinbase, Binance

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The top U.S. securities regulator sued cryptocurrency platform Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) on Tuesday, the second lawsuit in two days against a major crypto exchange, in a dramatic escalation of a crackdown on the industry and one that could dramatically transform a market that has largely operated outside regulation.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday took aim at Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The SEC accuses Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao of operating a “web of deception”.

If successful, the lawsuits could transform the crypto market by successfully asserting the SEC’s jurisdiction over the industry which for years has argued that tokens do not constitute securities and should not be regulated by the SEC.

“The two cases are different, but overlap and point in the same direction: the SEC’s increasingly aggressive campaign to bring cryptocurrencies under the jurisdiction of the federal securities laws,” said Kevin O’Brien, a partner at Ford O’Brien Landy and a former federal prosecutor, adding, however, that the SEC has not previously taken on such major crypto players.

“If the SEC prevails in either case, the cryptocurrency industry will be transformed.”

In its complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, the SEC said Coinbase has since at least 2019 made billions of dollars by operating as a middleman on crypto transactions, while evading disclosure requirements meant to protect investors.

The SEC said Coinbase traded at least 13 crypto assets that are securities that should have been registered, including tokens such as Solana, Cardano and Polygon.

Coinbase suffered about $1.28 billion of net customer outflows following the lawsuit, according to initial estimates from data firm Nansen. Shares of Coinbase’s parent Coinbase Global Inc closed down $7.10, or 12.1%, at $51.61 after earlier falling as much as 20.9%. They are up 46% this year.

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s general counsel, in a statement said the company will continue operating as usual and has “demonstrated commitment to compliance.”

Oanda senior market analyst Ed Moya said the SEC “looks like it’s playing Whac-A-Mole with crypto exchanges,” and because most exchanges offer a range of tokens that operate on blockchain protocols targeted by regulators, “it seems like this is just the beginning.”

Leading cryptocurrency bitcoin has been a paradoxical beneficiary of the crackdown.

After an initial plunge to a nearly three-month low of $25,350 following the Binance suit, bitcoin rebounded by more than $2,000, exceeding the previous day’s high. It was trading just below $27,000 at 0410 GMT.

“The SEC is making life nearly impossible for several altcoins and that is actually driving some crypto traders back into bitcoin,” explained Oanda’s Moya.

BROKER, EXCHANGE CRACKDOWN

Securities, as opposed to other assets such as commodities, are strictly regulated and require detailed disclosures to inform investors of potential risks. The Securities Act of 1933 outlined a definition of the term “security,” yet many experts rely on two U.S. Supreme Court cases to determine if an investment product constitutes a security.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler has long said tokens constitute securities and has steadily asserted its authority over the crypto market, focusing initially on the sale of tokens and interest-bearing crypto products. More recently, it has taken aim at unregistered crypto broker dealer, exchange trading and clearing activity.

While a few crypto companies are licensed as alternative system trading systems, a type of trading platform used by brokers to trade listed securities, no crypto platform operates as a full-blown stock exchange. The SEC also this year sued Beaxy Digital and Bittrex Global for failing to register as an exchange, clearing house and broker.

“The whole business model is built on a noncompliance with the U.S. securities laws and we’re asking them to come into compliance,” Gensler told CNBC.

Crypto companies refute that tokens meet the definition of a security, say the SEC’s rules are ambiguous, and that the SEC is overstepping its authority in trying to regulate them. Still, many companies have boosted compliance, shelved products and expanded outside the country in response to the crackdown.

Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association trade group, rejected Gensler’s efforts to oversee the industry.

“We’re confident the courts will prove Chair Gensler wrong in due time,” she said.

Founded in 2012, Coinbase recently served more than 108 million customers and ended March with $130 billion of customer crypto assets and funds on its balance sheet. Transactions generated 75% of its $3.15 billion of net revenue last year.

Tuesday’s SEC lawsuit seeks civil fines, the recouping of ill-gotten gains and injunctive relief.

On Monday, the SEC accused Binance of inflating trading volumes, diverting customer funds, improperly commingling assets, failing to restrict U.S. customers from its platform, and misleading customers about its controls.

Binance pledged to vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit, which it said reflected the SEC’s “misguided and conscious refusal” to provide clarity to the crypto industry.

Customers pulled around $790 million from Binance and its U.S. affiliate following the lawsuit, Nansen said.

On Tuesday, the SEC filed a motion to freeze assets belonging to Binance.US, Binance’s U.S. affiliate. The holding company of Binance is based in the Cayman Islands.

“It’s important to note that recent regulatory actions are aimed at ensuring that companies operating in the cryptocurrency industry are complying with securities laws and protecting investors – this will always be their goal,” said Joshua Chu, group chief risk officer at blockchain technology firms XBE, Coinllectibles and Marvion.

“These events will ultimately lead to a more stable and trustworthy industry, which could help to attract more institutional investors and mainstream adoption.»

Cryptocurrency

Arthur Hayes Is Selling: Here Are the Altcoins He’s Ditching

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The cryptocurrency market reached new heights in July as the total cap exceeded $4 trillion for the first time ever, led by bitcoin’s new peak above $123,000 and several altcoins’ rallies to ATHs, such as XRP and BNB.

The past few days, though, have gone in the opposite direction, with many altcoins charting double-digit price declines, while BTC plunged to a three-week low of under $113,000.

During these turbulent times of uncertainty, perhaps prompted by Trump’s latest tariffs and the movement of US nuclear submarines close to strategic Russian locations, prominent industry names, such as Arthur Hayes, have started to sell off. Here’s which altcoins the BitMEX co-founder sold in the past 24 hours.

ETH, ENA, PEPE Being Sold

As the data shared by the analytics resource Lookonchain points out, Hayes has used one of his known addresses to dispose of over $8 million worth of ETH, $4.6 million in ENA, and $414,700 worth of the third-largest meme coin by market cap – PEPE.

Later, the Maelstrom exec clarified that the reason for his sales is mostly related to Trump’s tariffs, many of which are set to be implemented starting from August 1. He believes BTC and ETH will retrace, as the former would retest the $100,000 resistance, while the latter will head toward $3,000.

Hayes is far from the only larger crypto investor turning to a sell-off strategy amid this market uncertainty. Lookonchain identified an unknown whale that had deposited over $90 million worth of ETH to several exchanges within a span of just two days.

Not SharpLink, Though

While some whales and Hayes are rushing to sell ETH, the second-largest ether holder, SharpLink, has taken the opportunity to increase its impressive stash.

After accumulating another 14,933 ETH, the company now owns over $1.6 billion worth of Ethereum’s underlying asset (464,209 ETH), according to Lookonchain. Data from CoinGecko and strategicethreserve shows that SharpLink’s Ethereum fortune is second only to Bitmine’s 566,766 ETH.

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XRP, TON Defy Market Correction as BTC, Alts Continue to Melt Down: Weekend Watch

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Bitcoin’s adverse price movements that started on Thursday continued in the past 24 hours, with the asset sliding to a new multi-week low of under $113,000.

With multiple altcoins in the red as well, including a new all-time low for Pi, it’s no wonder that the total crypto market cap has dumped by nearly $250 billion in a few days.

BTC Keeps Dropping

The primary cryptocurrency experienced a brief retracement at the end of the previous business week when it dipped from $119,000 to under $115,000 amid substantial sell-offs by Galaxy Digital on behalf of a client. However, once the sale was completed, BTC recovered most losses and even headed toward $120,000 after the weekend.

The bears were quick to intercept the move and didn’t allow another price jump. Bitcoin remained calm until Wednesday, when the latest FOMC meeting was scheduled to take place. Despite the positive US GDP data for Q2 and Trump’s continued pleas for rate reduction, Powell and company left them unchanged for a fifth consecutive time.

BTC reacted with an immediate price slip to under $116,000 but bounced off and challenged $119,000 on Thursday morning. However, more Trump-induced volatility followed amid new tariff developments and nuclear sub movements, and bitcoin plunged below $113,000 on Friday evening for the first time since July 10.

It has recovered around a grand since then, but it’s still 1% in the red daily and 3% down weekly. Its market cap is down to $2.260 trillion, while its dominance stands tall at 60%.

BTCUSD. Source: TradingView
BTCUSD. Source: TradingView

XRP Fares Well

Most larger-cap alts have followed BTC on the way south, with even bigger price declines. ETH has slipped below $3,500 after a 4% daily drop, SOL is below $165, while DOGE, HYPE, LINNK, BCH, and HBAR have retraced by around 3-4%.

Pi Network’s native token dumped to another all-time low earlier today, while ENA has plunged by 7%. There are a few exceptions from the larger-cap alts, including XRP and LTC, which are slightly in the green. TON has risen by over 3.5% to almost $3.6.

The total crypto market cap has dumped to $3.750 trillion on CG. This means that the metric has lost roughly $250 billion since Thursday’s peak.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto
Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: QuantifyCrypto
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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.

Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.

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Cryptocurrency

Coinbase Tanks 11% Pre-Market After $1.5B Q2 Revenue Miss

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Coinbase shares fell sharply after the company reported second-quarter earnings that missed expectations. Total revenue for the quarter came in at $1.5 billion, representing a 26% decline from the previous quarter.

The shortfall was largely driven by weaker-than-expected transaction revenue, which fell 39% quarter-over-quarter to $764 million.

Missing Expectations

In the official release, Coinbase revealed that its subscription and services revenue also declined 6% to $656 million. Despite efforts to reduce variable costs, operating expenses climbed 15% to $1.5 billion. Coinbase attributed this largely to the $307 million hit related to the data breach disclosed in May.

The crypto exchange recorded a net income of $1.4 billion, but this figure included $1.5 billion in pre-tax unrealized gains from strategic investments, including in Circle, as well as a $362 million pre-tax gain from its crypto investment portfolio. On an adjusted basis, net income stood at just $33 million, with adjusted EBITDA reaching $512 million.

Coinbase’s trading activity also underperformed the broader crypto spot market, as global and US crypto spot volumes declined 31% and 32% respectively. Meanwhile, its total trading volume fell 40% to $237 billion, and the consumer segment witnessed a 45% drop to $43 billion.

Consumer transaction revenue plunged 41% to $650 million, as volume shifted toward Simple trades amid low volatility. Institutional transaction revenue also saw a similar pattern, down 38% in both volume and revenue.

While Base Chain activity grew, other transaction revenue dropped 21% as average revenue per transaction declined.

As of the close on the previous trading day, Coinbase (COIN) shares were priced at $377.76, up slightly by $0.28. However, pre-market trading shows a sharp decline, with the stock down $42.30 (-11.20%) to $335.46. This steep drop suggests a strong negative reaction from investors, likely in response to recent earnings results.

Despite grappling with declining revenues and rising costs, Coinbase is doubling down on product innovation.

“Everything App”

Earlier this month, Coinbase rebranded its Wallet as the Base app, launching a crypto-focused “everything app” that merges trading, social media, USDC payments, mini-apps, and tokenized posts.

Announced at its “A New Day One” conference, the app runs on Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 network and integrates Farcaster for social feeds, Zora for post tokenization, and encrypted XMTP chat. Users can earn from tips, interact with AI agents, and make one-tap payments.

The platform also introduced Base Pay for Shopify merchants and plans 1% USDC cashback in the US. The app is in beta, while a full public release and developer tools are expected soon.

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