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The cryptocurrency winter that began in 2022 has resulted in the closure of several centralized exchanges due to the significant shrinkage in total traded volume. However, the rise of decentralized exchanges (DEXes) is expected to lead to more centralized exchanges following the bankruptcy protection path taken by FTX and Alameda. Meanwhile, Coinbase Global Inc is struggling to stay afloat before the next crypto bull market, which is expected after next year’s Bitcoin halving.
Crackdown on Crypto Projects
Apart from the cryptocurrency winter, financial regulatory agencies in the United States have begun cracking down on crypto projects, citing their operation without registration for securities licenses. The SEC accused the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange of offering unregistered securities through a staking program, which led to Kraken being caught in the crossfire.
Coinbase's staking services are not securities. We will happily defend this in court if needed.https://t.co/GtTOz77YV3
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) February 12, 2023
Dispute between Coinbase and SEC
Coinbase has strongly disapproved of the SEC’s arguments that staking services are securities, indicating that they are more like crypto mining programs. Following the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit that began two years ago, Coinbase Global delisted XRP from its spot trading market.
However, the decline in crypto traded volume has pushed Coinbase’s revenue to the corner, as depicted by the fourth-quarter earnings results. As a result, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in traded volume in the United States has added a new line to the risk disclosures section, stating that they may determine not to remove a particular crypto asset from Coinbase Spot Market even if the SEC or another regulator alleges that the crypto asset is a security.
Currently, Coinbase lists six of the nine crypto tokens that the SEC alleged were securities last year, including AMP, RLY, DDX, XYO, LCX, and POWR.
Is Coinbase Planning to Re-List XRP?
With the increased pressure to re-list XRP on its spot market, Coinbase may be looking to take on the SEC and make extra profits. While Coinbase has not made any official announcement regarding its plans to re-list XRP, it remains a possibility.