DeFi Education Fund Files Friends of the Court Brief: Coinbase Is Not Just an Exchange, but a Software Developer and IT Service Provider

Odaily Planet Daily News Lawyer and encryption enthusiast Bill Morgan believes that the US SEC wants to define all cryptocurrencies under the securities law. According to Morgan, the SEC’s recent activity has targeted not only cryptocurrency exchanges, but also wallet developers and providers. Morgan posted on X about Amanda Tuminelli, Chief Legal Officer of DeFi Education Fund, as she explained to the court the organization's amicus curiae position in the SEC vs. Coinbase case. According to Tuminelli, the DeFi Education Fund’s approach is designed to help courts understand the nuances of the technology at issue. Tuminelli noted that while Coinbase is a popular cryptocurrency exchange, it is also a software developer and IT service provider. The DeFi Education Fund urged the courts to consider the impact of their decisions on the ecosystem’s technology developers and service providers. Tuminelli said the fund doesn’t think it’s a broker’s job to develop wallet apps. To act as a broker, an entity must act as an intermediary in dealing in securities for others. Thus, the work of the wallet shows that passive software applications are not intermediaries. The team further explained that Coinbase does not control user assets through wallets, handle customer funds or mix assets. Coinbase does not open customer accounts through wallets, as it is not possible to open accounts on the blockchain. Tuminelli and team point out that Coinbase does not use the wallet to send orders. Instead, only users control their assets and are the sole decision makers of transactions. Wallet applications allow users to communicate their desired transactions to the blockchain network. The DeFi Education Fund also believes that Coinbase’s staking program is not a securities offering because Coinbase’s role in this regard is similar to that of an IT service provider. (Coin Edition)