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Important takeouts:
- Oregon’s decision to revive the SEC’s reduced lawsuit against Coinbase reveals the fragmented and unpredictable nature of US crypto regulations as federal authorities continue to pursue enforcement actions even after federal agencies have stopped their efforts.
- To justify this, Oregon argues that local consumer protection is more important, but Coinbase and others have warned that such cases risk undermining bipartisan efforts for clear national digital assets laws.
- With ongoing progress in federal crypto bills and support from the SEC’s aggressive enforcement, the Oregon case suggests that regulatory uncertainty persists in the United States.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield is preparing to file a lawsuit against Coinbase, similar to the charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which was dismissed earlier this year.
The new enforcement action scheduled to be filed Friday claims that Coinbase was operated as an unregistered securities platform and provided staking services without proper registration.
Oregon is “picking up” from what Gary Gensler excluded in a new legal attack.
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal announced a pending lawsuit relating to X, describing the case as a “imitation” of the SEC’s original enforcement action.
He added, “As a reminder, the SEC has dismissed the case on prejudice. This type of political jockey is an embarrassing waste for Oregon taxpayers.”
The SEC case filed in June 2023 accused Coinbase of acting as an unregistered broker, exchange and liquidation agency, promoting transactions in at least 13 crypto assets considered unregistered securities. We also challenged the legality of the company’s staking program as a service.
The federal agency dropped the case in February 2025 after a wider change in the tone of its regulatory state under the new SEC administration. It departed from the offensive enforcement approach defended by former chairman Gary Gensler.
It appears that Oregon’s attorney general is currently having the same argument.
New: Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, Democrat, clearly notified @coinbase He will pick up where the SEC left off and pursue an exchange over accusations that it would run an unregistered stock exchange and broker-dealer. The state is also reviving SEC’s… https://t.co/2bcwcsgqsr
– Eleanorterrett (@Eleanorterrett) April 18, 2025
According to a report by Fox business journalist Eleanor Terrett, Rayfield has notified Coinbase that the state will pursue charges that include unregistered securities offerings and staking services.
Coinbase says the Oregon AG office has explicitly told the company that “Gary Gensler SEC is picking up where it left off.”
Coinbase responds to state-level enforcement
Coinbase criticized the lawsuit as an outdated attempt to impose a regulatory regime that is no longer supported at the federal level.
“This is the exact opposite of what Americans should focus on right now,” says Grewal.
Coinbase argues that ongoing state-level enforcement measures risk eroding these efforts and creating further regulatory uncertainty in the US crypto industry.
“We have never approached bipartisan law on digital assets. This backward lawsuit does nothing to protect consumers or solidify American leadership,” Grewal continued.
Despite the legal challenges, Coinbase has confirmed its operations in Oregon continue uninterrupted.
The company said it is ready to oppose the lawsuit and is confident in its legal position.
As the nation follows, the SEC’s shift on code enforcement is unlocked
The February sacking of the SEC in a well-known case against Coinbase marked a turning point in US code enforcement policies.
Under the guidance of Mark Weda, now acting chair, the agency has stepped away from the offensive stance that was hired during Gary Gensler’s tenure.
Gensler was pushing to classify most cryptocurrencies as securities and staking services that were targeted as unregistered services.
Coinbase’s legal victory caused a domino effect, and Vermont, South Carolina, Kentucky and Illinois quickly waived the lawsuit.
The SEC also quietly dropped its actions against Consensey, Kraken, Robinhood and Ripple, highlighting a clear pivot under new leadership.
Despite this change, Oregon’s revival of the original incident against Coinbase is now standout, rekindling tensions in an otherwise cooling-regulated environment.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
By highlighting conflicting rules, state lawsuits can encourage lawmakers to create cohesive cryptography. SEC Chairman Uyeda has urged temporary guidelines to prevent oversight of fragmented states.
Oregon’s securities law covers crypto. In 2024, the state’s financial regulatory division settled on a platform surrounding unregistered yield crypto products, highlighting its enforcement.
The court will apply the Howie test and assess whether there is a money investment in a shared venture with the expected benefits from the efforts of others. Once all four prongs are satisfied, the asset is considered security.
Postcoinbase is facing deja vu.
