South Carolina has dropped its staking lawsuit against Coinbase, the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S.
This comes after Vermont made a similar move earlier this month.
Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at Coinbase, claims that South Carolinians have missed out on an estimated $2 million in staking rewards due to the lawsuit.
"The 52 million Americans who own crypto deserve commonsense consumer protections and clear rules. We applaud South Carolina for standing up for justice and hope the remaining states with bans on staking will take notice," Grewal said on social media.
Coinbase's top lawyer has clarified that staking is now live again in the southeastern state.
Alex DovbnyaAs reported by U.Today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped its case against Coinbase last month. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2023, prompting a slew of states to launch their own legal actions against the leading U.S. exchange. Apart from Vermont and South Carolina, California, Maryland, Alabama and several other states have taken Cinbase to court. It remains unclear whether the SEC's pro-crypto U-turn will make the remaining states abandon their lawsuits.
In its now-abandoned lawsuit, the SEC had argued that Coinbase was supposed to register its staking program with the regulator.
The new SEC administration has reportedly taken a significant interest in staking, and it is expected that the agency might issue some sort of guidance on the matter in the future.
Earlier today, the SEC also formally dismissed its cases against Kraken, Consensys and Cumberland as part of its efforts to unwind the controversial legacy of former Chair Gary Gensler.
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin