‘Judge Failla Aligns Herself With Coinbase’: Comments Web3 Analyst

James Murphy, a web3 analyst and content creator, shared his views on the possibilities of the beleaguered crypto exchange Coinbase’s victory against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the ongoing legal battle. Reflecting on Judge Katherine Polk Failla’s statement at the pre-motion conference held on Thursday, the analyst pointed out that the judge aligned herself with the exchange.

On July 15, Murphy, known as MetaLawMan on Twitter, shared a post, incorporating the transcript of the SEC-Coinbase pre-motion conference:

The analyst commented that the judge being explicitly aligned with the defendant is “unusual for a first argument”. He added that the judge’s support for Coinbase on a key argument would have an adverse effect on the SEC, predicting, “It gets worse from here for the SEC”.

Judge Failla commented:

It’s not crazy in the Failla parlance for Coinbase to think that what they were doing was OK because it was exactly what you let them do when they issued the S-1. That’s the point I’m making.

Stressing on Judge Failla’s words, Murphy pointed out that the judge was “making” that point, and reiterated that the possible outcome of the SEC’s lawsuit against Coinbase could be in opposition to the regulators. Referring to another significant comment from the Judge, the analyst asserted, “This is a significant tell and not a good one for the SEC”.

The judge’s words read:

You [SEC] may say that they [Coinbase] and I [the Judge] are reading too much into the issuance of the S-1.

In the long-awaited SEC-Ripple case’s conclusion, the exchange won against the regulatory body, when Judge Analisa Torres ruled in favor of the company, confirming that XRP is not a security. The crypto exchange’s victory in the long-held case strengthened the confidence in other exchanges including Coinbase which fight against the stringent clutches of the regulators, as commented by Coinbase’s legal officer Paul Grewal.