Coinbase Makes Major Political Moves Following SEC Case Resolution

When it comes to crypto exchanges, few come close to Coinbase in terms of influence within the industry. Coinbase is one of the biggest exchanges by daily transaction volume, as well as one of the most recognizable platforms in the sector. For crypto projects, a Coinbase listing is a major coup as it means more exposure and more chance to make a profit.

As Shraddha writes, many investors are on the lookout for Coinbase new listings to know what tokens they should buy. This is perhaps why the recent wave of regulatory and political developments regarding Coinbase have made headlines. 

Coinbase Scores SEC Victory

Crypto industry stakeholders remember that a few years ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States filed lawsuits against several companies. Coinbase was part of this, accused of selling cryptocurrencies that were deemed unregistered securities and of not properly registering its staking program with the SEC. Coinbase denied this allegation, and it seemed like the beginning of a long legal battle. It is worth noting that companies like Binance and Telegram have also been targeted for their crypto activities by the SEC, and historically, the commission has had a contemptuous relationship with the industry.

However, after Trump took office and former SEC chairman Gary Gensler was out of the picture, there were rumors that the commission would drop the charges against Coinbase and others.

At the time, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong had said that a possible dismissal would be a major coup for the industry.

“If this goes through, it’s a really big deal, not just for us, but for the whole crypto industry, the 50 million Americans who hold crypto, and I think for the rest of the world because this is an important signal about where things are going,” he said.

Fast forward to February 2025, and the SEC agreed to stop prosecution against Coinbase and several other companies. On the one hand, this was certainly a coup for the sector and represented, perhaps, the start of a better relationship between the commission and companies in the space. On the other hand, some critics pointed out a possible bias on the part of the Trump administration towards the crypto sector. Throughout the campaign trail, Trump touted himself as the pro-crypto candidate and received donations from several major players in the industry. Ahead of his inauguration, Coinbase donated over a million dollars, and some believed it was an attempt at currying favor. However, the SEC dismissal and donating to the Trump campaign is far from the end of Coinbase’s regulatory developments in 2025. 

Coinbase Eyes Tokenized Securities 

Over the last decade, many crypto-focused projects have turned their attention to tokenizing real-world assets. This tokenization involves taking real-world assets and fractionalizing ownership in them, making it easy for investors to buy small stakes in various projects, as opposed to putting up the money to own them outright. Some of the popular assets for tokenization include art, real estate, and so on.

With its SEC battle now behind it, Coinbase has expressed interest in expanding its offerings to tokenized securities, which could be beneficial for its users. Coinbase’s Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas has reignited discussion about the company offering such securities, which was initially pursued but abandoned years ago. 

“And many of you probably didn’t read our first S1 filing back in 2020. But we tried to go public with a security token. We tried to go public on our own products. And we could not, and we ran into brick walls,” Haas said.

One of these challenges included the failed launch of its COIN token, but now that the regulatory landscape is better, it is possible that it will make a comeback. The larger implication is that other crypto exchanges and projects might follow in Coinbase’s footsteps and release their own tokenized securities. A few years ago, this might have caused immense debate about the legal standing of such security and if there would be any repercussions. But with the SEC seemingly in a better place with the industry, investors might just have these tokenized securities to look forward to in the near future. 

Coinbase Deepens Its Trump Connection

One noticeable development with Coinbase has been its growing connection to the Trump administration. The signs were apparent since 2024 when the exchange donated to the trump inauguration fund, and now that Trump is in office, it is continuing in these efforts. Notably, Coinbase has been confirmed to participate in the upcoming crypto summit in the White House, which is the first of its kind. In this, it joins other industry heavyweights like Chainlink and Exodus. The trump administration heavily emphasized cryptocurrency during the campaign trail, and now that he is in office again, they seem to be sticking to this. Notably, Trump hired David Sacks as crypto and AI czar,  a position that did not previously exist. Now that the summit is being held, it is clear that there will be more institutional support for the industry over the next four years.

This also comes as Trump has hinted at a Bitcoin reserve backed by the Federal Government, which has stirred some controversy. Ironically, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has commented on the possible reserve, insisting that just Bitcoin should be added to it and that there is no need for asset variety. This sort of engagement with the Trump administration only added fuel to the fire of speculation that the SEC lawsuit drop was a result of their political connections. But even outside of politics, Coinbase and the industry in general appear to be headed towards a period of monumental growth.

The Next Four Years Of Crypto

The year 2024 saw the crypto industry recover from a long-running winter period, and this was marked by several major wins. The most notable is probably the approval of spot ETFs for Bitcoin and Ether, which had been applied for and pursued for years on end. The approval of these ETFs had a ripple effect, with Bitcoin eventually passing the coveted $100,000 mark before the end of the year.  This also coincided with a halving and an overall market swing, which saw major out coins record price spikes, as well as an influx of new tokens into the market.

One of the long-lasting effects of the ETFs has been the possibility of even more tokens getting the same treatment. A few years ago, a bitcoin ETF was spoken of as a lofty goal that may or may not become a reality. Now, all sorts of altcoins are being considered for ETFs, with Solana, Dogecoin, and the like at the forefront of the discussion.  Overall, the next four years are brewing to be significant for the growth of the crypto industry, and with institutional support on its side, companies like Coinbase can succeed.

Conclusion

Coinbase has seen the crypto industry through many different twists and turns, and this year is gearing up to be one of its biggest yet. Through its alignment with the Trump administration, it has overcome regulatory hurdles and, from all indications, is gearing up to release more projects and further solidify its place in the sector.