Coinbase to Supreme Court: Stop 2 User Lawsuits in Crypto Cases

Coinbase Global wants the U.S. Supreme Court to end two users’ lawsuits against the cryptocurrency exchange until the company is done with its appeals that it hopes will send those cases to arbitration.

According to a Bloomberg report Wednesday (Aug. 3), the cases are Coinbase v. Bielski (22A91) and Coinbase v. Suski (22A92).

In the first case, a man wants Coinbase to reimburse him $31,000 for the money he lost by giving remote account access to a scammer. The second case alleges that Coinbase violated California consumer law by holding a $1.2 million dogecoin sweepstakes without adequately disclosing that entrants didn’t have to buy or sell the cryptocurrency, according to the report.

Both lawsuits are attempting to reach class action level, which would allow more people to join the fray and attempt to be compensated for similar alleged wrongdoing by Coinbase.

Coinbase tried to send both cases to arbitration, but its attempts were thwarted by federal judges both times. The company said arbitration is a required step according to its user agreements, per the report.

The company told the Supreme Court that trial court proceedings should stop while the company presses its appeal in the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but the 9th Circuit refused to block the cases during the appeal phase, according to the report.

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Coinbase is the target of a precedent-setting unregistered securities sale enforcement action that could trigger long-term collateral damage to crypto payments if the agency wins its case.

Related: Cathie Woods’ Ark Jumps Ship as Coinbase’s SEC Woes Threaten Crypto Payments

The revelation led one of Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s biggest and most prominent Wall Street boosters, Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood, to bail out, dumping 1.41 million shares worth about $75 million last week — just after COIN shares sank another 20% after news of the SEC investigation hit.

The move came three months after Wood doubled down on Coinbase, buying almost 550,000 shares worth about $29 million on May 11. Coinbase Global Inc. is down about 85% since its November all-time high of $368.90 at the height of the crypto bull market.