Court Grants Coinbase's Motion For Appeal of the SEC Case

Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has granted Coinbase's motion for an interlocutory appeal

A US District Court Judge has granted Coinbase’s درخواست for an interlocutory appeal in the ongoing SEC case. The approval will now see Coinbase get the verdict from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on whether digital assets without any post-sale obligations can be classified as investment contracts.

Coinbase filed the brief on April 12, 2024, at the New York Southern District Court, seeking an interlocutory appeal to get clarity on where the Commission should regulate as investment contracts digital assets with no binding post-sale requirements for buyers.

The crypto exchange’s legal chief highlighted that the SEC’s legal action against Coinbase and other digital asset firms exceeded the measure of Congressional authority granted the agency, putting US digital asset innovation in a chokehold.

Coinbase’s appeal now presents a “controlling question” of law, and the court has also paused all legal proceedings till the resolution of the interlocutory appeal.

The Court found that the Order for an interlocutory appeal “presents a clear and controlling question of law: whether transactions involving crypto-assets of the kind Coinbase intermediates are “investment contracts,” and thus securities, for purposes of the Securities Act.” A controlling question is a principal legal matter in a case that can drastically alter its outcome change its entire trajectory, or lead to a faster resolution.

The court also found that the question of “whether transactions involving crypto-assets qualify as “investment contracts,” and therefore “securities” within the Securities Act is a “pure question of law” because the Appellate Court “could decide it “quickly and cleanly” without any need to study the record.

The court filing, however, does not agree with Coinbase’s efforts to “cast aspersions on the SEC’s approach to digital assets.” But the court does agree that prior conflicting decisions on the application of Howey’s Test to crypto assets do necessitate the Second Circuit’s guidance.

Moreover, an interlocutory appeal leans more in Coinbase’s favor as it potentially hastens the “ultimate termination of the litigation,” resulting in the clearance of most of the SEC’s claims against Coinbase.

“Accordingly, the Court finds that the third Section 1292(b) factor is satisfied. And in connection with its certification of the Order for interlocutory appeal, the Court will stay this action pending the resolution of the appeal,” the court filing adds.

While Judge Failla stays the proceedings in action pending the interlocutory appeal resolution, the parties are expected to submit a joint letter to the court on or before Jan. 14 about any major changes in the appeal.