The US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has said it will temporarily bar consumers from staking new assets in four jurisdictions.
Users in California, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Wisconsin will be able to access specific staking services further notice, according to a blog post published by Coinbase on July 14.
Regulatory agencies in 10 U.S. states began their own legal actions after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against the cryptocurrency exchange in June for providing unregistered securities, leading to the suspension of some services. Coinbase stated:
“We strongly disagree with any allegation that our staking services are securities. But we will fully comply with the preliminary state orders where required, even though that comes before we’ve had an opportunity to defend ourselves.”
Only the regulators’ actions in California, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Wisconsin, according to Coinbase, call for a break from staking more assets. In Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Vermont, or Washington, users are “eligible to stake cryptocurrency just as they were before.”
The announcement was made following the first pre-motion hearing in the SEC action against Coinbase. On June 6, the commission filed the case, stating that since 2019, the cryptocurrency exchange has acted as an unlicensed security broker.
Overall, the crypto exchange has refuted all of the accusations. State and federal regulators have targeted other cryptocurrency companies for staking because the services violated securities laws.
With the SEC, Kraken agreed a $30 million settlement in February that required it to stop providing staking services or programs to clients in the United States.
