UNCHAINED: Why the SEC’s Case Against Coinbase Is So Significant for Crypto
CoinDesk Podcast Network
CoinDesk
4.8 • 689 Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2024
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Attorney Sam Enzer explains how the case that’s currently being heard could impact the SEC's entire enforcement regime against crypto.
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On Wednesday, a federal court in New York heard oral arguments in Coinbase’s motion to dismiss the SEC’s case against it for, among other things, allegedly acting as an unregulated securities exchange. Notably, Judge Katherine Polk Failla pressed the SEC to explain how it has jurisdiction over Coinbase in the case by defining what it considers a security.
Sam Enzer, a partner at Cahill Gorden & Reindel who represents Coinbase but not in this matter, joined Unchained to discuss why this case is so significant for the crypto industry, how he believes the government contradicted itself on the crucial definition of what constitutes a security, why he thinks the judge will not dismiss the case at this early stage, how the Ripple and Terraform Labs cases could be used by each side, and why he thinks Judge Failla is such a perfect choice to rule in this case.
Show highlights:
- Why SEC v Coinbase holds important implications for the U.S. crypto ecosystem
- What the SEC alleges against Coinbase, focusing on its trading platform, wallet, and staking services
- How Coinbase forcefully counters the SEC's claims as it strives to get the case dismissed
- What the “major questions doctrine” entails and its critical role in this dispute
- Why Sam perceives the judge as “extremely skeptical” of the SEC's stance
- Whether inconsistencies surfaced in the SEC lawyers' arguments
- What “strict liability” means and its frequent mention in this legal battle
- What takeaways from the Ripple and Terraform Labs cases offer about secondary market sales
- Why Sam believes Judge Katherine Polk Failla is exceptionally well-suited for this case
- Whether Judge Failla might reject the motion to dismiss, and when
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Guest
Sam Enzer, partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Why SBF's Testimony So Far Has Likely Already Doomed Him
Another Bad Week for Sam Bankman-Fried in His Criminal Trial
Why These Lawyers Say It's Over for SBF-But His Only Hail Mary Is to Testify
SBF Trial: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Might Try and Win His Case
SBF’s Lawyers Could Be Annoying the Judge How Might That Impact the Trial?
Links
Previous coverage of Unchained on the Coinbase case and the topic of securities:
SEC Sues Binance, Coinbase: ‘This Is Not the End of Crypto in the United States’
These 2 Crypto Trading Platforms Agree With SEC Chair Gary Gensler
Coinbase’s Legal Action Against the SEC: How It Will Likely Unfold
‘Is ETH a Security?’ Why Gary Gensler Couldn’t Give Congress a Straight Answer
Gary Gensler vs. Crypto: What Will the SEC Attack Next?
Rep. Emmer on Why He Believes Gary Gensler Is a ‘Bad-Faith Regulator’
Coinbase vs. SEC
Unchained:
Federal Judge Presses SEC Over Jurisdiction in Case Against Coinbase
SEC Sues Coinbase for Breaking Securities Laws
SEC Files Motion to Freeze Binance’s Assets, Asks for ‘Sworn Accounting’
SEC Calls Solana, Polygon, Algorand and Other Tokens Securities but Misses Ether in Binance Lawsuit
Cointelegraph: Senator Lummis files amicus brief supporting Coinbase’s dismissal motion against SEC.
Other cases
Kraken
CNBC:Crypto exchange Kraken settles with SEC for $30 million, will close US staking operation
XRP
Unchained: SEC vs Ripple: Judge Rules XRP Sold on Exchanges Is Not a Security
Terraform Labs
Reuters: Judge sides with US SEC, says Terraform Labs crypto founder Do Kwon violated law
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Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Thanks for listening to Unchained, your no-hype resource for all things crypto on the CoinDesk Podcast Network. |
| 0:06.5 | You can also listen to the episodes on the Unchained feed earlier if you subscribe there. |
| 0:11.7 | Plus, check out all our content on our website, Unchained Crypto.com. |
| 0:16.5 | The SEC is supposed to be a regulator. |
| 0:20.1 | They're supposed to be giving us the rules of the road. |
| 0:22.9 | How can you follow the law if the person enforcing the law gave you at least three different |
| 0:28.7 | explanations of what the rule is within a mere oral argument? Hi everyone. Welcome to Unchained. You're a no high resource for all things crypto. |
| 0:41.0 | I'm your host, Laura Shin, author of The Cryptopians. I started covering crypto eight years ago, |
| 0:46.8 | and as a senior editor at Forbes, was the first mainstream media reporter to cover |
| 0:50.3 | cryptocurrency full-time. This is the January 19th, 2024 episode of Unchained. With I Trust Capital, |
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| 1:20.4 | Today's guest is Sam Enser, partner at Cahill, Gordon, and Rydell. Welcome, Sam. |
| 1:25.6 | Hi, Laura. Thanks for having me on again. It's a pleasure to be here. |
| 1:28.4 | Yeah, pleasure to have you back. On Wednesday, Judge Catherine Polkfaila oversaw a hearing to determine |
| 1:34.4 | whether she should throw out the SEC's case against Coinbase. This was the case that alleged that |
| 1:39.1 | Coinbase is operating an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency due to offering trading |
| 1:44.6 | and certain tokens that the SEC says are securities. |
| 1:48.7 | And also, it's staking as a service program is also an issue here. |
| 1:53.2 | Before we dive into the details of what happened during the hearing, why do we have you |
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