The SEC had accused Coinbase of operating unlawfully because it failed to register as an exchange

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had asked Coinbase to halt trading in all crypto currencies apart from bitcoin before suing the crypto currency platform in June, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong.

We really did not have an option at that point. Delisting every asset other than bitcoin, which by the way is not what the law says, would have intrinsically meant the end of the crypto sector in the US, Armstrong told the Financial Times.

It kind of made it an easy choice, let us go to court and find out what the court says, Armstrong said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission had accused Coinbase of operating unlawfully because it failed to register as an exchange. The commission also claimed that Coinbase traded at least 13 crypto assets that are securities that should have been registered, including tokens like Solana, Cardano and Polygon.

The Securities and Exchange Commission told the Financial Times that its enforcement division did not make formal requests for “firms to delist crypto assets”.

In the course of an investigation, the staff may share its own view as to what conduct may raise questions for the commission under the securities laws, Financial Times stated, citing the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The regulator sued Binance in June, with both civil cases part of Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler’s attempts to claim jurisdiction over the crypto sector.

Gensler has termed the crypto sector a “Wild West” that has diminished investor trust in the U.S. capital markets. Crypto firms say the SEC rules are not clear, and that the agency is overstepping by attempting to regulate them.