SEC Is Alleging Legal Violations ‘On the Fly,’ Coinbase Says

“An investment contract exists when you invest money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the efforts of others. Intermediaries for investment contracts, whether they’re exchanges, brokers, dealers, clearinghouses, they need to comply with the securities laws and register with the Securities and Exchange Commission,” he said. “Instead, many crypto platforms are just pretending that these investment contracts that they offer are more like goldfish,” using an analogy about pets.