Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, recently spoke with lawyer John Deaton, host of the Twitter-based podcast CryptoLaw, about Coinbase’s decision to continue offering Algorand (ALGO). This decision came after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) classified Algorand as a security in its charges against Bittrex Crypto Exchange.
While Coinbase removed XRP from its listing due to a regulatory examination in 2021, it has not done the same for ALGO, even though the cryptocurrency is facing a similar issue. However, in his interview, Grewal noted that secondary sales of assets do not make them securities. Deaton, on the other hand, believes the same argument should also apply to XRP tokens.
Grewal concurred with the plight of XRP owners who feel unfairly punished, but he also reiterated Coinbase’s commitment to upholding the rule of law equally for all. He further stressed the need for crypto exchanges and projects to collaborate in order to take on a formidable foe, the US Stock Exchange Commission.
Recently, Grewal met with Ripple’s General Counsel, Stuart Alderoty, which Deaton applauded as two great General Counsels fighting for cryptocurrency regulation improvement in the United States. Similarly, attorney Bill Morgan remarked that there is nothing better than teaming up against a common enemy, although it is noteworthy that Ripple and Coinbase have each faced regulatory pressure from the SEC on various occasions.
While some XRP enthusiasts have called on Coinbase to relist XRP, it remains to be seen whether that will happen. In the meantime, ALGO continues to be offered on Coinbase, and Grewal believes there is still room for collaboration, coordination, and strategy to fight the SEC.
