Coinbase is once again in the legal crosshairs. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield has launched a complaint against the crypto exchange, claiming that he sold unregistered securities to U.S. residents without adequately screening for dangerous investments to protect consumers.
The state-level lawsuit follows the SEC’s decision in February to dismiss a federal enforcement lawsuit against Coinbase. This is part of a broader reversal of cryptocurrencies, where several digital asset enforcement cases have ceased.
The state is left to make up for the enforcement gap created by federal authorities “give up” and “waive these important cases,” according to a statement from the Attorney General’s office.
The first news about the lawsuit surfaced yesterday as Coinbase Chief Law Officer Paul Growal notified the Crypto community in a tweet that the Oregon Attorney General “resurrected the deaths by submitting a copying case of SEC enforcement action against Coinbase.”
XRP decisions have been omitted
In a recent tweet, Coinbase Clo Paul Grewal said Crypto Exchange ultimately posted its hand in the Oregon AG complaint.
We finally got a copy of the Oregon AG complaint. If you have any doubts about the motivation behind it, look for section 9 or below. 1) Judge Phila’s order grants dialogue appeal in the case @secgov. 2)… pic.twitter.com/mixxtq7ojh omits mention of Judge Torres’ decision
– Paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) April 18, 2025
Interestingly, there was no mention of Judge Torres’ decision in the Ripple case. In July 2023, Judge Torres ruled that XRP “is not necessarily the security of its face,” and undermined the SEC’s argument. This victory was not just a turning point for ripples, but a turning point throughout the crypto industry.
In a first tweet, Grewal suggested the motive for the lawsuit aimed at reviving regulations through the enforcement approach, revealing that the AG office is picking up the location where former SEC chairman Gary Gensler resigned.
“If there is any doubt about the motivation behind it, we will not explore anything but Section 9,” Grewal said he has granted the SEC’s dialogue appeal, along with some screenshots of the lawsuit that omitted Justice Failla’s order. Judge Torres’ decision on XRP and mentions “labeling the SEC chairman as a crypto lobbyist while also condemning the reallocation of Gensler’s lead lawyers to the IT department.”
Grewal said he is confident that Coinbase is correct in fact and law and is preparing to fight “misplaced” lawsuits.
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