United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) decided to communicate proactively on crypto staking, which had recently attracted regulators’ attention. The company’s petition to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) explains why staking can’t be universally labeled as securities.
The “Petition for Rulemaking” was published by Coinbase on March 20. In an 18-page document, the firm focused on how securities law treats services related to validating proof-of-stake protocols. It was written in response to the SEC’s February crackdown on Kraken’s staking program — the SEC charged the exchange with “failing to register the offer and sale of their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program,” which it qualified as securities.