Top Attorney Highlights What Coinbase Stands to Lose If It Relists XRP Now

Hogan thinks Coinbase relisting XRP now will affect its litigation if Ripple loses its case against the SEC.

In a tweet today, attorney Jeremy Hogan, a pro-crypto lawyer and partner at Hogan & Hogan, explained what San Francisco-based exchange Coinbase might lose if it relists XRP before Judge Analisa Torres rules on the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit.

According to Hogan, if Coinbase relists XRP and Ripple eventually loses the lawsuit against the SEC, the leading San Francisco-based exchange would be put on its back heels in its pending litigation.

“Any chance of a relisting prior to Ripple verdict went out the window with SEC Wells notice IMO,” attorney Hogan added. 

Notably, Hogan remarked in response to an XRP fan who asked what Coinbase would lose if it relists the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. 

For context, Coinbase delisted XRP weeks after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Ripple with violating securities laws via its XRP sales. The lawsuit has been ongoing for more than two years, with no specific date on when Judge Torres will issue her ruling.

Two years later, Coinbase disclosed that it received a Wells Notice from the SEC following a widespread crypto crackdown by the commission. The notice alleged that Coinbase’s staking products constitute an unregistered security. 

Responding to the allegations, Coinbase said, “It does not list, clear, or effect trading in securities.”  The second-largest exchange by 24-hour trading volume, according to CoinMarkeCap, added that any enforcement action against the exchange would pose programmatic risks to the SEC. 

Prior to its response to the SEC’s Wells Notice, Coinbase sued the SEC on April 24, asking the regulator to publicly respond to a months-old petition on whether the commission will allow the crypto industry to be regulated using existing securities law.

SEC Responds to Coin Base’s Writ of Mandamus 

Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal took to Twitter today to reveal that the SEC has responded to the petition, asking the court to respond with a yes or no answer or whether it will undertake rulemaking for the United States crypto industry.

Per Grewal, the SEC’s answer to the question was a “resounding maybe.” He added that the SEC informed the court that it was not in a hurry to establish rules for crypto, as the process may take years.

Grewal asserts that the SEC confirmed in its response that it would continue to use enforcement actions instead of rulemaking.

Reacting to the development, attorney Hogan said Coinbase’s writ of mandamus was the exchange’s way of playing offense against the SEC’s potential lawsuit that might likely come this summer.

The Coinbase writ was never about getting an answer to whether the SEC will fairly regulate crypto.

That’s obviously a “no.”

This was a Coinbase offensive against the SEC lawsuit against it coming this summer. And it got some interesting tidbits to use. 1/2 https://t.co/aXwutfJXgh

— Jeremy Hogan (@attorneyjeremy1) May 16, 2023