Crypto influencer Zagabond.eth, who is popular for his NFT collection Azuki, recently came out in support of American crypto giant Coinbase after it was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday for allegedly operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.
Zagabond.eth took to Twitter earlier today and pledged support for Coinbase and its founder Brian Armstrong:
Coinbase has been the most compliant exchange and has onboarded millions of people into crypto. I support @brian_armstrong for standing up to the SEC and hope this fight brings more regulatory clarity for the entire space. pic.twitter.com/aGFLhNhXWe
— ZAGABOND.ETH (@ZAGABOND) June 7, 2023
The NFT entrepreneur described Coinbase as the most compliant crypto exchange, which facilitated the onboarding of millions of users into crypto. He lauded the exchange for standing up to the securities regulator, hoping that the legal battle paved the way for more regulatory clarity for the crypto space.
The Azuki founder called on the crypto community to add a Coinbase shield to their NFT avatar to show support for the exchange. Meanwhile, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong released a “Stand with Crypto” NFT that featured a blue shield. At the time of writing, more than 135,000 crypto users had minted the commemorative NFT to show their support for Coinbase and crypto advocacy.
The SEC’s enforcement action on the United States’ largest crypto exchange prompted everyone from influencers to politicians and crypto executives to stand with Coinbase and pledge support to its top management.
Earlier today, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis issued a statement on the SEC’s decision to sue Coinbase. The politician noted that the SEC’s reliance on regulation by enforcement harmed crypto consumers. According to her, consumer protection requires a robust legal framework rather than pushing the industry offshore through litigation.
Senator Lummis stated, “The SEC has failed to provide a path forward for digital asset exchanges to register, and even worse has failed to provide adequate legal guidance on what differentiates a security from a commodity.”
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also responded to the SEC’s latest enforcement action. The crypto executive called out SEC Chair Gary Gensler for his “laughable pro-innovation” stance on crypto. According to Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty, Gensler didn’t have the power to dictate which tokens qualify as securities.
