A U.S. judge has determined Coinbase’s self-custody crypto wallet doesn’t make it a broker, which lawyers say is a “significant setback” for the SEC and a boon for DeFi.
Crypto lawyers are hailing a recent decision by a United States judge to dismiss allegations against Coinbase Wallet as a win for self-custody wallets and decentralized finance (DeFi) apps.
While U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla on March 27 denied Coinbase’s bid to dismiss a Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit, finding the SEC “sufficiently pleaded” Coinbase was unlicensed and its crypto staking offering was unregistered securities.
The judge also determined the SEC failed to allege that Coinbase conducted brokerage activity through Coinbase Wallet — its self-custody crypto wallet app giving users full control of their assets.
