Coinbase Pushes for Federal Crypto Laws to End State-Level Legal Chaos!

Coinbase urges the U.S. Department of Justice to fix state-level legal chaos and create clear federal crypto regulations.

Fridah Kangai
September 18, 2025
2:45 pm

Fridah Kangai

Fridah Kangai is a dedicated crypto journalist with a sharp eye for market trends, blockchain innovation, and digital asset movements. She specializes in breaking down complex topics into clear, engaging stories for both seasoned investors and curious newcomers. With a passion for decentralization and a pulse on the ever-evolving crypto space, Fridah delivers timely, accurate, and insightful coverage. Her work bridges the gap between technology and everyday understanding in the world of cryptocurrency.

Coinbase calls for federal regulations to end state-level chaos.
Grewal urges Congress to act on crypto regulatory clarity.
Oregon lawsuit highlights fragmented legal landscape for crypto companies.

Coinbase has officially urged the U.S. Department of Justice to establish federal regulations that would prevent conflicting state laws from hindering the crypto industry. Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal wrote to the department complaining that the sporadic regulations and state policies are causing havoc to businesses in the crypto sector, and it is not easy to conduct business in any state anymore.

Grewal indicated that the states have taken a mixed set of meanings of the securities laws, which has resulted in a legal environment that is patchy and at times conflicting. He denounced these state-level initiatives as innovative, sweeping, and ineffective interpretations that can only slow innovation and damage consumers. One such incident is the legal war that Coinbase is currently in with Oregon, as the Attorney General of that state, Dan Rayfield, sued the company on the grounds that Coinbase was promoting unregistered crypto assets, yet such services are legal on the federal level.

When Oregon can sue us for services that are legal under federal law, something's broken. This isn't federalism–this is government run amok. We just sent a letter to @TheJusticeDept urging federal action on crypto market structure to remedy this. 1/3
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) September 16, 2025

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The Need for Federal Preemption and Legislative Clarity

This is a lawsuit against Coinbase after the SEC decided to drop its case against the exchange in the first half of the year, and had alleged that the exchange was running as an unregistered broker. Nevertheless, state regulators such as Oregon are still going after crypto companies. According to Grewal, the situation proves the inefficiency of the existing regulatory environment when the legal acts of states conflict with the federal regulations, and this leads to confusion and legal threats to companies.

To overcome these challenges, Grewal asked Congress to develop a bill that would regulate the crypto industry. He pointed to bills such as the CLARITY Act and the Responsible Financial Innovation Act of 2025 as possible solutions that would form a unified framework of regulation. Otherwise, the crypto industry would remain in danger of state-specific legal dilemmas.

Meanwhile, Coinbase has taken the Oregon case to federal court, where it requests that the case be resolved. The company also filed a separate suit against Oregon Governor Tina Kotek. These legal actions indicate the urgency with which Coinbase pursues more transparency and uniformity of crypto regulations in the country.

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