The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has argued that digital assets should not be treated as special and should be subject to securities laws, supporting the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its lawsuit against Coinbase. The SEC sued Coinbase in June, accusing the crypto exchange of violating federal securities laws. Coinbase argued that digital assets and services it provided did not qualify as securities. NASAA’s general counsel, Vincente Martinez, stated that the SEC’s position is consistent with established law and that explicit Congressional authorization is not necessary. The lawsuit is expected to hinge on the interpretation of the Howey test, which determines what qualifies as an investment contract. Martinez argued that the test is flexible enough to include securities sold and traded on blockchains. He also criticized Coinbase’s claim that the digital asset industry is a significant portion of the American economy, stating that digital assets are not widely accepted for goods or services and are not economically useful. NASAA joined the SEC in asking the judge to deny Coinbase’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. NASAA comprises securities regulators from all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, and several U.S. territories.

This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)

Information	Details
Geography	North America
Countries	🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇲🇽
Sentiment	neutral
Relevance Score	0
People	Vincente Martinez
Companies	North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), Coinbase, United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Currencies	Bitcoin, Ethereum
Securities	None