Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box outside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 21st, 2025.
Gerry Miller | CNBC
Coinbase announced Friday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to drop its enforcement case against the company, pending the approval of the regulator’s commissioners.
Shares of Coinbase rose 4% in premarket trading.
In 2023, the SEC charged Coinbase with operating an unregistered securities exchange and for failing to properly register its crypto staking program. However, the case was started under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler. The regulator is expected to take a more friendly stance to the crypto industry under President Donald Trump and Paul Atkins, the current nominee for SEC chair.
Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” said that the company will not pay any fine. He said the agreement to end the case marks a “huge day” for Coinbase and the crypto industry at large.
“I think it’s a really important signal that, [after] a small group of activists in this prior administration who tried to unlawfully attack this industry, we’re going to be able to turn the page on that and finally get some regulatory clarity in America,” Armstrong said.
“I hope that they’ll dismiss all the bogus cases, frankly, and it will be a domino effect for the rest of the industry,” he continued.
The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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