00412.eth

[Brian Armstrong @brian_armstrong]

Great news!

After years of litigation, millions of your taxpayer dollars spent, and irreparable harm done to the country, we reached an agreement with SEC staff to dismiss their litigation against Coinbase. Once approved by the Commission (which we're told to expect next week) this would be a full dismissal, with $0 in fines paid and zero changes to our business.

This is hugely vindicating, especially because many people questioned my decision to engage in litigation with the SEC on this matter in 2023. People told me the courts would give a lot of leeway to the government. They said public market investors wouldn't like it. They said it would take years and cost us tens of millions of dollars in legal fees (which it did). They said the agency would use mafia tactics like trying to pressure other companies not to work with us while the lawsuit was underway (which they did).

But I knew a few truths that helped make it an easy decision to fight them in court:

1. The SEC was wrong on the law.
They were exceeding the authority given to them by congress by asking us to delist a number of assets that were not securities. We had taken a conservative approach to ensure we weren't listing any securities, and the SEC itself had allowed us to go public in 2021 after reviewing our listing standards in depth. We tried to “come in and register” but it turned out it was a fake offer, as every crypto company discovered. Regulators are supposed to enforce the law, but they can't make up new laws on the spot if they don't like the current ones, or weaponize a lack of clarity in the law.

2. Caving to their demands could have killed the crypto industry in America.
The SEC made it clear to us that the only way to avoid litigation was to delist the many assets they falsely claimed were securities. It was a bullying tactic, pure and simple, driven by Gensler's own political agenda. And if we had caved, it would have dramatically limited the scope of which crypto assets were allowed in the US, and pushed the industry further offshore, into the shadows. Never forget how close a few activists in government came to unlawfully killing an entire industry in America! It could have easily gone the other way. Thank goodness the founding fathers created the judicial branch, as a check and balance on executive power.

3. It was the right thing to do for our customers and the industry.
At the end of the day, it didn't matter what our chance of success was. I had to stand up for our customers’ and our industry’s rights. I also knew it would serve as a deterrent for future bad actors around the world we may have to engage with, for them to know that we won't be bullied or pressured. We are comfortable engaging in litigation across multiple fronts, indefinitely, while continuing to build. This is business as usual. As Bain in The Dark Knight says, "you merely adopted the dark; I was born in it".

Growing up I had a naive view that regulators exist to hold companies accountable. What I realized in this ordeal is sometimes, companies must hold regulators accountable who are painting outside the bounds of the law, to preserve freedom. Accountability can actually happen both ways. At Coinbase, our mission is to increase economic freedom, and I initially thought we could achieve this solely through our crypto products. But I'm increasingly realizing that we can move the needle on economic freedom in the courts and through our policy efforts as well, when we see bad actors in government around the world. We plan to do more of this.

I have to give credit here to the Trump administration, for winning the election, and for the departure of the activist head of the SEC, Gary Gensler, who orchestrated this unlawful action along with Elizabeth Warren, and a handful of their lackeys in congress. I feel confident we would have won this case in the courts either way, given our facts were so strong, but it certainly helped accelerate the process and drive accountability. I called out the sketchy behavior of the SEC back in 2021, and I believe this comment turned out to be prescient.

I want to give a shout out to all the other crypto companies who fought back with their own lawsuits (we certainly were not the only ones).

I want to give a shout out to all the crypto startups who couldn't afford the legal fees, and went bankrupt due to the administration's abusive tactics. Your company may have died, but crypto lives on. Don't stop building.

I want to give a shout out to both Democrat and Republican members of congress, who are working hard to ensure America leads on crypto. I know that Gary Gensler and Elizabeth Warren do not represent the entire Democratic party.

And I want to give a shout out to all the crypto holders in the US who elected pro-crypto candidates, on both sides of the aisle, to make sure your rights were preserved. It turns out the crypto voter is real, and showed up in the millions.

Finally, I expect we'll continue working productively with the SEC on any number of items over the years, just as we do with every agency around the world where we operate. I look forward to the SEC being reformed under Paul Atkins, Mark Uyeda, Hester Peirce, and DOGE, and new more sensible personnel coming into leadership roles. I commend the new leadership that is already in place for working to right this wrong - it's a great step in the right direction, and took courage. Now let's get some crypto legislation passed in the US to finally clarify the rules, and really kick off this next phase of building.

[dfinzer.eth | opensea @dfinzer]

OpenSea has received a Wells notice from the SEC threatening to sue us because they believe NFTs on our platform are securities.

We're shocked the SEC would make such a sweeping move against creators and artists. But we're ready to stand up and fight.

Cryptocurrencies have long been in the crosshairs of the SEC, and companies like @coinbase, @Uniswap, @RobinhoodApp, @krakenfx, and @Consensys have been fighting against the SEC's single-track approach of "regulation by enforcement."

But this is a move into uncharted territory. By targeting NFTs, the SEC would stifle innovation on an even broader scale: hundreds of thousands of online artists and creatives are at risk, and many do not have the resources to defend themselves.

NFTs are fundamentally creative goods: art, collectibles, video game items, domain names, event tickets, and more.

We should not regulate digital art in the same way we regulate collateralized debt obligations.

As we've built OpenSea, we've heard so many stories about the impact of NFTs on people’s lives, including:

• Student artists finding full-time careers in selling their digital art
• Indie game developers instantly enabling open markets for their in-game items, without having to build marketplaces from scratch
• Passionate collectors from different corners of the world joining new communities, all centered around shared digital ownership

It would be a terrible outcome if creators stopped making digital art because of regulatory saber-rattling. Take, for example, the suit filed against the SEC by the musician @songadaymann and conceptual artist @brianlfrye, which describes their fear that the sale of their art and music could be deemed unregistered securities offerings.

In addition to standing our own ground, we're pledging $5M to help cover legal fees for NFT creators and devs that receive a Wells notice. Every creator, big or small, should be able to innovate without fear.

I hope the SEC will come to its senses sooner rather than later, and that they'll listen with an open mind.

Until then, we'll stand up and fight for our industry.

Onwards 🌊⛵️

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

@rachit Missing out the largest one - Linea

$725M raised

[Paul Grewal @iampaulgrewal]

The result of the SEC’s litigation-focused
approach to crypto regulation is that market participants now face different rules, not only in
different courts in this District, but in different federal courts around the country. We appreciate the Court's consideration. 3/3

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

Shorted @DistrictOneIO on @wasabi_protocol

https://t.co/hfRzwNvHCa

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

Overall, I’ve had an amazing experience with Blast which has taught me a lot, while also being an incredibly fun journey. Whatever your @Blast_L2 points/gold estimates are, send them higher 📈

Special mention: I’ve earnt 19 gold from a 40$ deposit betting on @ikbdotgg

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

A small players story📖

My experience turning 0.1ETH into 1ETH + over 100 gold on @Blast_L2 💥

1. $MIA
2. @pacmoon_
3. @insrtapp
4. @DistrictOneIO
5. @wasabi_protocol

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

5. Finally, my favourite trading platform I’ve used on any crypto related product @wasabi_protocol. Not only is the UI brilliant, but I’ve made a cumulative 145% return on just 5 trades! (Albeit with just 0.01-2 at a time)

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

@k2_nft @pacmoon_ @PacmanBlur Not a holder, but nice meme

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

Shorted @CryptoValleys on @wasabi_protocol

https://t.co/987RYVGV24

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

Longed ETH on @wasabi_protocol

https://t.co/R5Ufs106n8

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

@maks_atom1k @punk9059 I see the good intention from Pac-Man to give the gold airdrop to real token holders instead of Sybil’s, but I agree the end product has been whales gambling and dumping when it hits.

Do you think the gold being retracted if you then immediately dump would be good?

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

@maks_atom1k @punk9059 1) All Blast coins pumped on news of airdrop delay, BAJA pumped 80%, PAC +30%.

2) Agreed, the dumping straight after ruins the ecosystem a bit.

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

@gmoneyNFT @guyoseary I own no Yuga assets, but with the 1 Billion $ could they not have bought a real Hotel, made a burn process for Deeds/Kodas to own a room that can be rented out with rev share or just used ?

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

@wizardofsoho $CIF
Cat with hat

[00412.eth @SamScot49040600]

@OGDfarmer Derbibit ✅