$ETH $XRP

NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL ASKED THE SEC TO DECLARE ETH AND XRP AS SECURITIES, COINBASE REVEALS.

Coinbase revealed internal communications from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showing that the New York Attorney General's Office (NYAG) requested the SEC to file an amicus curiae brief in support of the argument that Ether (ETH) is a security. This request was made in June 2023, according to an email from Shamiso Maswoswe, head of the NYAG's Investor Protection Bureau.

The NYAG's request came in the context of its lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin in March 2023, where the prosecution alleged that KuCoin was operating illegally in New York by trading securities and commodities without a license, specifically naming ETH as an unregistered security. Maswoswe noted that, while the classification of ETH would not be determinative in their case against KuCoin (since the NYAG has authority over securities and commodities), obtaining a judicial ruling declaring ETH as a security would be beneficial for investor protection.

The documents revealed by Coinbase, obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, also show internal discussions within the SEC in 2021 about whether XRP possessed the characteristics of a security. In an email, an SEC staff member inquired about the risks to the XRP blockchain if Ripple were to disappear.

The disclosure of these communications comes at a crucial time amid an ongoing regulatory debate over the classification of digital assets in the United States. The SEC did not formally respond to the NYAG's request regarding ETH.

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