Coinbase CEO happy to go to court over US stance on staking, ‘if needed’

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has stepped up what looks like a preemptive defense of his cryptocurrency exchange’s staking services.

“Coinbase’s staking services are not securities. We will happily defend this in court if needed,” Armstrong posted to Twitter on Sunday.

Armstrong’s weekend comments come after rival exchange Kraken settled a dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier in the week. Kraken agreed to pay a $30 million fine for failing to register the offer and sale of its “crypto asset staking-as-a-service program.” The Coinbase CEO has also said it would be a “terrible path” for the U.S. if it decided to restrict crypto staking.

Although Coinbase has said its staking services are “fundamentally different” than Kraken’s, its shares fell by more than 20%.

Armstrong has said crypto companies should be encouraged to grow in the U.S. and unnecessarily restricted from doing business.

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