April 18, 2025
Oregon’s attorney general on Friday sued crypto exchange Coinbase and called on states to fill the “enforcement vacuum left by federal regulators” like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which have dropped cases under the Trump administration.
The lawsuit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, claims Coinbase created and operated an exchange that supports the sale of unregistered securities, “or in other words, risky investments,” state Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a public statement.
Among other things, the suit alleges that assets for sale on the Coinbase exchange “are vulnerable to pump-and-dump schemes and fraud, which often end in devastating losses for investors,” Rayfield’s office said in a press release. One such asset plunged almost 99% since it was launched on Coinbase, from $700 to about $7 a share, the office said.
The complaint also claims Coinbase reaped millions of dollars in fees while Oregon residents suffered losses.
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Oregon is represented by assistant attorney general Brian A. de Haan and trial and special assistant attorneys general Keil M. Mueller, Jennifer S. Wagner, Yoona Park, Norjmoo Battulga of Keller Rohrback LLP and special assistant attorneys general Julie G. Reiser, Margaret Wydman and Christopher J. Bateman of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.
Read Ore. AG Sues Coinbase in Bid To Fill ‘Enforcement Vacuum’.