ALGO Stands Tall: Coinbase Legal Officer Discusses Its Continued Listing
May 10 2023 - 4:00PM
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Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase, Paul Grewal, spoke to lawyer John
Deaton, host for the Twitter-based podcast CryptoLaw, regarding the
exchange’s decision to continue offering Algorand (ALGO). The
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier classified
Algorand as a security in its charges against the Bittrex crypto
exchange. Related Reading: PEPE Token Futures Cast Gloom For
Investors As Prices Plummet By 45% Notably, Coinbase delisted XRP
based on regulatory scrutiny in 2021. But it has yet to do the same
with ALGO, even as the cryptocurrency faces a similar issue. Paul
Grewal Explains Coinbase Position On Algorand In his interview,
John Deaton discussed the confusion among XRP’s community regarding
Coinbase’s approach to making and reviewing listing
decisions. Paul Grewal stated that secondary sales of assets
do not make them securities. However, Deaton believes that the same
argument regarding secondary sales applies to XRP tokens.
According to Deaton, XRP’s suspension from trading on Coinbase was
due to the argument that the token is a security under U.S.
law. However, Coinbase still offers ALGO to traders,
frustrating XRP holders who feel penalized. In response, Grewal
reiterated Coinbase’s commitment to upholding the rule of law
equally for everyone. He sympathized with the plight of XRP holders
who believe that a double standard applies to various
situations. Further, Grewal states that laws and
circumstances changed and referred to Coinbase’s amicus brief
supporting Ripple in November 2022. He believes crypto exchanges
and projects must “team up to withstand a solid adversary,” the
U.S. SEC. According to Grewal, the SEC is not “above
mistakes” in interpreting the law, and the recent enforcements from
the body are politically motivated. Teamwork Necessary Moving
Forward These remarks come after a meeting between Paul Grewal and
Ripple’s General Counsel, Stuart Alderoty. John Deaton remarked
that the meeting showed two great General Counsels leading the
front line in the battle to improve crypto regulation in the United
States. Two great GCs leading the front line in battle. I tip
my 🧢 Gents. https://t.co/YYVBf5wl5h — John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1)
May 3, 2023 John Deaton had recommended in a tweet in March 2023
that crypto companies facing SEC enforcement actions need to share
ideas. He believes they can create coordinated strategies to defend
themselves against the commission and its “excesses.” Related
Reading: Dogecoin Limps In A Bearish Market: What Traders Should
Watch Out For Also, Attorney Bill Morgan reacted to the meeting
between Coinbase and Ripple’s top legal officers. He believes
nothing is “better than teamwork against a common enemy.”
Interestingly, Ripple and Coinbase faced regulatory pressure from
the SEC on different occasions. The SEC charged Ripple for
offering XRP tokens as unregistered securities in 2020. While the
case continues, the commission served a Wells Notice to Coinbase in
February 2023. Meanwhile, some XRP enthusiasts have called on
Coinbase to relist XRP. According to XRPcryptowolf, Coinbase must
relist XRP if they “desire Ripple’s help to defeat the SEC.”
Featured image from Coinbase and chart from Tradingview
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