- Coinbase is being sued by Oregon for allegedly providing unregistered securities and staking services.
- The lawsuit repeats claims previously made by the SEC previously, before the SEC dropped its own case in February 2025.
- Coinbase plans to fight the lawsuit, arguing that it follows the law and that most digital assets are not securities.
Coinbase is once again in the legal crosshairs as Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield sued the cryptocurrency exchange, repeating accusations that it works as an unlicensed securities market. The state argues that Coinbase’s staking service also violates multiple provisions of the registration that was a similar federal case in case 2023 of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The legal action directly goes to the business model of Coinbase, which is alleged to provide trading of digital assets deemed securities under Oregon law. It also challenges Coinbase’s staking services, which the state argues must be licensed. Oregon’s action confirms the trend of individual states to set up their policies for cryptocurrencies as federal agencies adapt their approaches.
“After building trust with Oregon consumers, Coinbase sold high-risk investments without them being properly vetted to protect consumers. Oregonians lost money, and we believe Coinbase should be held accountable and take steps to protect consumer”
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield
Federal Dismissal Raises New Legal Questions
In February 2025 the SEC dropped their case against Coinbase because it had sold at the very least thirteen tokens without registering the securities as well as operating an unauthorized staking service. The decision came as a departure under the current Trump presidency, which has endeavored towards a friendly climate for the industry.
Coinbase’s legal team claims that the Oregon-led lawsuit recycles issues the SEC has decided not to take legal action on. Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal opposed the move as “copycat litigation;” he argued that disjointed state efforts stifle Congressional work on a unified framework for cryptocurrencies. He argued that the lawsuit endangered the market seeking clarity due to regulatory chaos for many years.
States vs. Feds
There are ongoing conflicts of power between the state and federal governments regarding regulating cryptocurrencies. While state agencies seem more inclined to crack down on Oregon’s lawsuit then point out the problem with having a legal structure that lacks consistency across states since state authorities pursue independent legal strategies.
SEC’s acting chair, Mark Uyeda, declared in March the creation of the Crypto Task Force and the start of structured policy-making rather than piecemeal litigation. The task force’s work will involve providing definitions for certain terms when it comes to digital assets, which would allow future cooperation between the regulators and crypto companies.
Even as the federal government recedes, Oregon’s legal filing suggests states can fill the void. Legal analysts also warn this could result in a patchwork of regulations that make it difficult for regional entities to comply with a national platform like Coinbase.
Coinbase has vowed to fight the Oregon lawsuit, insisting that its operations are compliant with all applicable laws and that the vast lion’s share of the digital tokens on its platform fails to satisfy the criteria for securities. The company says it is transparent, voluntary, and beneficial to consumers for its staking services.
