Coinbase to Pause Staking in California, New Jersey, South Carolina and Wisconsin

Crypto exchange Coinbase is pausing its retail staking service in California, New Jersey, South Carolina and Wisconsin after those states said they would require changes to those services while its proceedings against such staking services move forward. Crypto staked before the orders were issued will remain unaffected.

The SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase last month classifying its staking service, as well as several of the tokens it lists, as securities. That same day, securities agencies in ten states started their own proceedings against Coinbase.

“We strongly disagree with any allegation that our staking services are securities,” Coinbase wrote in a blog post Friday afternoon. “But we will fully comply with the preliminary state orders where required, even though that comes before we’ve had an opportunity to defend ourselves.”