A federal judge in New York has suggested that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could have alerted Coinbase to potential securities law violations before approving its application to go public. The SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase in June, alleging that the firm sold unregistered securities.

During a pre-trial conference, the judge queried why the SEC had not warned Coinbase of any regulatory grey areas before approving its public listing. The judge also noted that Coinbase may have assumed it was in the clear given the lack of warning from the SEC prior to its IPO.