Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has attempted to quell speculation that his exchange’s staking products should be classified as securities — upping the ante in the ongoing debate around crypto regulations with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. In a televised interview with Bloomberg on March 1, Armstrong said, “Our staking product is not a security,” referring to cryptocurrencies that can be staked directly on the exchange to generate yields. He continued: “Customers never turn their assets to Coinbase for instance. And we really just are providing a service that passes through those coins to help them participate …

The Ethereum community appears to have taken a bullish view of Coinbase’s newly announced layer-2 network, Base, which has been described as a “massive confidence vote” and a “watershed moment” for the blockchain network. Secured on Ethereum and powered by layer-2 network Optimism, Base aims to eventually become a network for building decentralized applications (DApps) on the blockchain. The layer-2 network is currently in its testnet phase, according to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. 0/ Hello world. Meet Base, an Ethereum L2 that offers a secure, low-cost, developer-friendly way for anyone, anywhere, to build decentralized apps. Our goal with Base is …

The staking services offered by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase are “fundamentally different” to what was offered by its peer exchange Kraken — which recently came under fire from the United States securities regulator — according to Coinbase's head lawyer. Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, made the comments in his response to a shareholder question regarding its staking services during a Q&A session on the exchange’s fourth-quarter results, noting: “The staking products that we offer on Coinbase are fundamentally different from the yield products that were described in the reinforcement action against Kraken. The differences matter.” The first point of difference …

Despite attempts to police cryptocurrency through enforcement actions, United States financial regulators “are bound by legal reality” and Congress will ultimately decide crypto regulations the policy expert for the crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association has suggested. The association's chief policy officer, Jake Chervinsky, shared his views in an extensive Feb. 14 Twitter thread on the state of crypto policy. He noted neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nor the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) “has the authority to comprehensively regulate crypto.” 14/ No matter how many enforcement actions the SEC and CFTC bring, they are bound by legal reality: …

Brian Armstrong, the chief executive officer of United States-based cryptocurrency firm Coinbase, is looking for lawmakers and regulators to discuss regulatory clarity in the crypto space. In a Feb. 13 tweet, Armstrong put a call out for anyone with access to the Dirksen Senate Office in Washington, D.C. to meet him at the building’s snack bar and “chat about crypto”. According to the Coinbase CEO, he was looking for “low sugar options” amid the selection of soft serve ice cream and toppings. "’I'm in Washington D.C. and had a meeting canceled," said Armstrong. "If anyone wants to come chat about …

Crypto exchange Coinbase's executives are standing up for its crypto staking services, claiming it cannot be classified as a security, and threatening to bring the matter to the courts in the United States. Brian Armstrong, Coinbase CEO, posted on Twitter that the company will "defend this in court if needed." The move follows the agreement reached by crypto exchange Kraken with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Feb. 10 to stop offering staking services or programs to clients in the country. According to the SEC, Kraken failed “to register the offer and sale of their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program,” …

Amid Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange standing up for crypto staking and economic freedom, the online community has urged the company to support XRP as well. On Feb. 9, Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal claimed that Coinbase's staking program is not affected by rival exchange Kraken shutting down its staking services. The executive argued that Kraken’s staking platform was “essentially offering a yield product,” while Coinbase’s staking services are “fundamentally different and are not securities.” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also took to Twitter on Thursday to declare that the exchange will continue to oppose the government when it comes to protecting …

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner Hester Pierce has publicly rebuked her own agency over the shut down of Kraken's crypto staking program in the United States. The commissioner blasted her regulator in a Feb. 9 statement called "Kraken Down," noting that regulation by enforcement “is not an efficient or fair way of regulating” in an emerging industry, stating: Today, the SEC shut down Kraken’s staking program and counted it as a win for investors. I disagree and therefore dissent. Peirce's statement also slammed the regulator for shutting down a “program that has served people well." “Using enforcement …

The CEO and co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, believes that banning retail crypto staking in the United States would be a ‘terrible’ move by the country's regulators. Armstrong made the comments in a Feb. 9 Twitter thread which has already been viewed over 2.2 million times, after noting they've heard “rumors” that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission “would like to get rid of crypto staking” for retail customers. “I hope that's not the case as I believe it would be a terrible path for the U.S. if that was allowed to happen.” Armstrong did not share where …

From an outside perspective, 2022 has been a rollercoaster ride for crypto. The market reached a total valuation of $3 trillion during the bull market of 2021, only to scale back to its current level of around $810 billion. While this poor performance can be partly attributed to the pervading macroeconomic environment — compounded by rising inflation rates and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, among other factors — one cannot deny the role that the recent slew of insolvencies has had on the sector. That said, below is a list of arguably the most notable heroes and villains who have undeniably …

What do the cryptocurrency and porn industries have in common? As it turns out, both are frequent targets of the traditional financial system, which has been known to ban the accounts of both crypto traders and sex workers. On this week’s episode of the newly launched podcast The Agenda, Cointelegraph senior copy editor Jonathan DeYoung and head of markets Ray Salmond speak to Allie Rae, an adult content creator and CEO of WetSpace — a crypto-focused alternative to OnlyFans. Rae first exploded into the mainstream when she lost her job as an ICU nurse after her colleagues discovered her hobby …

With digital asset management firm Grayscale refusing to provide proof of reserves for its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), an independent analyst has spent days combing through the blockchain to independently verify its holdings. The OXT Research analyst, Ergo, used on-chain forensics to confirm that as of Nov. 23 that the GBTC owns approximately 633,000 Bitcoin (BTC) held by its custodian, Coinbase Custody. The Grayscale G(BTC) Coins Part 2 In this analysis we use additional on-chain forensics to CONFIRM the approximate 633k BTC balance held by G(BTC) at Coinbase Custody. Which begs the question, why does Grayscale refuse to disclose their …