Nathan Tankus

Why Coinbase Lend Really Was Security Issuance

Editor's note: A longer, more in-depth version of this piece first ran on Notes on the Crises, a paid newsletter. Last month, a big controversy blew up when Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced in a tweet that the SEC had threatened to sue the company if it moved forward with its planned Lend product. Less than two weeks later, Coinbase shuttered the product.  The earliest versions of the Lend marketing language on Coinbase’s site are no longer publicly available but can be found using the Way...