HIVE - SEC sues Coinbase for operating as unregistered broker; stock slumps

2023-06-06 08:40:20 ET

• Coinbase Global ( NASDAQ: COIN ) stock tumbled 16% in Tuesday premarket trading after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange, alleging that it's operating as an unregistered securities broker.
• Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) also slid after the news, falling 4.1% to $25.6K. As recently as April 17, the token had been trading at ~$30K. Ethereum ( ETH-USD ) slid 3.0% .
• Since at least 2019, Coinbase ( COIN ) has unlawfully facilitated the buying and selling of crypto asset securities, the SEC said, according to its complaint. The suit comes a day after the regulator sued Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, and its CEO for allegedly violating U.S. securities regulations.
• "We allege that Coinbase, despite being subject to the securities laws, commingled and unlawfully offered exchange, broker-dealer, and clearinghouse functions," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. "In other parts of our securities markets, these functions are separate."
• Crypto-related stocks dropped, too. MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) fell 3.0% ; Riot Platforms ( RIOT ) -5.9% ; Marathon Digital ( MARA ) -2.3% ; Hive Blockchain ( HIVE ) -2.6% .

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