Coinbase asks US DOJ to take steps to prevent state enforcement cases

The company’s chief legal officer urged federal officials to push Congress for certain provisions in a pending market structure bill to prevent what it called “state blue-sky laws.”

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is pressing the US Department of Justice to step in over state-level crypto enforcement after federal regulators abandoned their case against the company earlier this year.

In a 14-page letter sent Monday to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said federal officials should take action in response to state-level enforcement directed against cryptocurrency companies. According to Grewal, the DOJ should urge Congress to “step in and enact broad preemption provisions.”

“When Oregon can sue us for services that are legal under federal law, something’s broken,” said Grewal in a Tuesday X post. “This isn’t federalism--this is government run amok.”

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