The decision, made by U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla, allows the SEC to pursue its lawsuit against Coinbase, which alleges that the exchange operates as an unregistered exchange, broker, and clearing agency, according to March 27 court documents, that state:

“The Court finds the SEC has sufficiently pleaded that Coinbase operates as an exchange, as a broker, and as a clearing agency under the federal securities laws, and through its Staking Program engages in the unregistered offer and sale of securities.”

The SEC sued Coinbase in June 2023 alleging that the crypto exchange violated federal securities laws by listing 13 tokens it alleged were securities.