Coinbase Ruling Will Let Trump’s SEC Clarify Its Crypto Stance

The SEC’s days of policing the cryptocurrency industry without formal rules are waning after a federal appeals court instructed the agency to provide a better rationale for rejecting Coinbase Global Inc.’s request for crypto-specific rulemaking.

The cryptocurrency exchange on Jan. 13 got a nod from the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in its bid to force the Securities and Exchange Commission to clarify when and how federal securities laws apply to digital assets, though the judges stopped short of explicitly ordering the agency to write a rule.

As Chair Gary Gensler and several Democratic commissioners prepare to ...