The lawyers also made a reference to the recent XRP case decision.
Coinbase and Binance were sued by the SEC in June 2023.
On Friday, Coinbase submitted a brief to the court hearing the SEC case against them, asking that the charges be dropped. The exchange contended in its brief that, contrary to decades of Supreme Court precedent, it does not provide investment contracts.
This comes at a time when lawmakers and authorities in the United States are under growing pressure to clarify the legal framework governing the cryptocurrency industry.
Memorandum of Law Submitted
In the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, lawyers for the cryptocurrency exchange submitted a memorandum of law in support of Coinbase’s move for judgment on the pleadings. They said the SEC had disregarded due process by changing its mind on how the securities laws should be interpreted.
Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of Coinbase stated:
“By ignoring that precedent, the SEC has trampled the strict boundaries on its basic authority set by Congress.”
An extraordinary leap, the lawyers said, for the agencies to try to depict a straightforward asset sale as a security. The lawyers also made a reference to the recent XRP case decision.
In its most recent filing, the exchange argued that the SEC’s Exchange Act allegations should be dismissed because the SEC’s complaint does not allege the necessary components of an investment contract. Coinbase and Binance were sued by the SEC in June 2023 for allegedly breaking securities laws. The exchange posted results that were above Wall Street forecasts for the second quarter earlier on Thursday.