Oregon Sues Coinbase Over Alleged Sale of Unregistered Crypto Securities

Key Takeaways

• According to the Oregon Department of Justice, the state is stepping in to fill a perceived regulatory void left by federal authorities.
• Officials said this move reflects growing concerns that oversight of crypto markets has stalled at the national level, particularly under the Trump administration

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield has filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, alleging the crypto exchange violated state securities laws by offering and selling digital assets that qualify as unregistered securities. The legal action, announced on April 18, centers on the classification of several tokens, including XRP, as securities under Oregon law.

According to the Oregon Department of Justice, the state is stepping in to fill a perceived regulatory void left by federal authorities. Officials said this move reflects growing concerns that oversight of crypto markets has stalled at the national level, particularly under the Trump administration. The lawsuit claims Coinbase facilitated the trading of a range of tokens through both its retail platform and institutional Prime service without proper registration, in violation of state securities regulations.

The complaint highlights that assets made available to users included XRP and a long list of other cryptocurrencies. It asserts that Coinbase’s role in offering these assets for trading meets the legal criteria of selling investment contracts, a central test in determining whether an asset is a security. However, the filing does not clearly outline why certain wrapped versions of tokens, such as wLUNA, were included while others were omitted.

Coinbase has pushed back against the claims. On April 21, the company’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, publicly criticized the lawsuit, calling attention to what he sees as a fragmented regulatory landscape that leaves companies exposed to overlapping and inconsistent standards across states. While Coinbase has maintained that the digital assets on its platform are not securities, state regulators like Oregon argue that under their interpretation of the law, many crypto offerings qualify for registration.

The legal impact of the lawsuit may remain limited to Oregon, but it could still influence broader regulatory efforts. Though the case itself may not establish precedent beyond state lines, a ruling in favor of the state could provide a roadmap for similar actions elsewhere. Legal analysts suggest that even non-binding judgments can shape how future lawsuits are structured and how aggressively states move against crypto firms.

The timing of the case adds to its significance as it comes days before Coinbase introduced XRP futures contracts on its derivatives platform—marking the token’s return to the spotlight after Ripple Labs, its issuer, settled a long-standing dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in March.