Coinbase filed a motion on June 29 to dismiss the recent lawsuit against it filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), saying the regulator acted beyond its regulatory scope in the recent lawsuit against the crypto exchange. Coinbase’s stock jumped over 3% on the news.

Coinbase Says SEC is Acting Beyond its Power

Shares of Coinbase jumped more than 3% at the market open on Thursday after the firm filed a motion to dismiss the SEC’s recent lawsuit against it. The stock was trading at $73.07 at the time of writing.

In a June 29 filing, Coinbase slammed the US regulator over its interpretation of securities laws, implying the commission was extending its clutches beyond legal limits.

“The SEC’s claims lack all merit. Its still-evolving legal position rests on a novel, atextual, and acontextual construction of the word “investment contract” in the federal securities statutes that runs directly contrary to SEC officials’ public admissions about the limits of their agency’s statutory authority. “

– Coinbase wrote in the complaint.

Even if its allegations turn out to be correct and the assets and services the SEC mentioned in its complaint fall within the scope of its regulatory power, the lawsuit still must be dismissed on grounds “that it violates Coinbase’s due process rights and constitutes an extraordinary abuse of process,” the exchange added in its filing. Coinbase also opposed the securities regulator’s claims that Coinbase facilitated the trading of twelve unregistered securities, alleging the agency was applying securities laws to some tokens in a manner that extends beyond existing legal frameworks.

SEC Cracks Down on Crypto Firms While TradFi Giants Seek to Embrace Bitcoin

Coinbase’s latest complaint against the SEC adds to the uncertainty looming over the crypto regulatory landscape in the US. While the commission and other US regulators continue to crack down on crypto exchanges and other industry players, many traditional financial institutions express interest in digital assets and cryptocurrency.

Earlier this month, the largest asset manager in the world, BlackRock, filed to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). This move was shortly accompanied by the likes of Invesco, Valkyrie, and WisdomTree. Meanwhile, several cryptocurrencies have been delisted from certain trading platforms. Many crypto firms hint at leaving the US market following the SEC’s two recent lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance.

Nonetheless, the regulator’s legal actions had little to no impact on crypto prices, with Bitcoin recently exceeding the $30,000 threshold on prospects of institutional adoption.

This article originally appeared on The Tokenist

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