According to Morgan Mac Lawyers, Coinbase is unlikely to delist bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) even if regulators increase pressure on the exchange, given that these two cryptocurrencies account for 65% of its trading volume.
Bill Morgan, a lawyer representing the San Francisco-based exchange, stated that Coinbase’s business model heavily relies on the trading of market-leading coins, and delisting BTC and ETH could lead to the exchange’s financial collapse.
Morgan is confident that even if both crypto-assets were to be recognized as securities in a hypothetical court decision, it would not affect Coinbase’s decision.
Coinbase had previously added XRP trading pairs in 2019, but the exchange delisted the coin in January 2021 after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Ripple for violating securities laws.
However, Coinbase also faces regulatory claims, as the SEC warned it could be sued for trading in unregistered securities, leading to strong reactions from the crypto community.
According to former SEC lawyer Marc Fagel, Coinbase may not be able to defend itself against the regulator’s lawsuit.
Despite this, Coinbase can still cite statements from high-ranking officials, including former SEC CFO William Hinman, who said a few years ago that ether was not considered a security.
In recent news, Coinbase sued the SEC itself, accusing it of failing to clarify industry regulations and harassing cryptocurrency companies.