Coinbase has landed in fresh legal trouble—this time, not from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, but from the Oregon Attorney General.
In a lawsuit filed on 9 April, the state accused Coinbase of offering and selling unregistered securities to Oregonians.
This includes major cryptocurrencies such as XRP, Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), and Chainlink (LINK).
The civil complaint, brought under Oregon’s securities laws, could mark a significant turning point in the state-level crackdown on digital asset platforms.
Coinbase sued over 31 tokens
According to the filing by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, Coinbase allegedly violated the Oregon Securities Law by facilitating the sale of at least 31 crypto tokens as unregistered securities.
NEW: The Oregon AG suing @coinbase is claiming around 31 tokens (18 more than the SEC originally named) including $XRP, $LINK and $UNI were offered and sold as investment contracts. The lawsuit refers to them as “crypto securities.”
Good spot @JBSDC.
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The tokens named in the lawsuit include XRP, ADA, MATIC, AAVE, UNI, and MKR, among others.
Rayfield claims that Coinbase made millions in fees while Oregonians lost money due to the platform’s promotion of what he described as risky investments that had not undergone proper registration.
Unlike the US SEC, which named 18 tokens in its lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance last year, Oregon’s action goes further by expanding the number of cryptocurrencies considered securities.
The complaint also points out that Coinbase allegedly failed to warn customers of the risks and legal classification issues related to these assets.
XRP named again despite Ripple’s partial legal win
XRP’s inclusion in the Oregon lawsuit has raised eyebrows, especially since Ripple Labs won a partial legal victory in its own case against the SEC last year.
A federal judge had ruled that Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP qualified as securities, but that programmatic sales did not.
Oregon’s Attorney General, however, argues that XRP still constitutes a security under state law—reigniting the debate over its regulatory status.
This fresh challenge from Oregon comes even as Ripple continues to navigate legal uncertainty in other jurisdictions. The state’s assertion could set a precedent for other states to reassess XRP’s standing under local statutes.
Coinbase fires back, warns of broader crypto impact
Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal responded publicly on X, criticising the Oregon Attorney General’s office for filing the lawsuit on behalf of over 500,000 customers without directly consulting them.
Grewal warned that the lawsuit, while limited to Oregon, could have consequences for the broader cryptocurrency industry.
He argued that targeting a national platform with state-level securities laws risks creating a fragmented regulatory landscape. This could deter innovation and prevent uniform protections for crypto investors across the US.
The timing of Oregon’s lawsuit adds further complexity to Coinbase’s legal landscape. The exchange is already locked in a high-profile battle with the US SEC, which accuses it of operating as an unregistered national securities exchange.
Coinbase has denied those claims and is contesting them in federal court.
Legal implications beyond Oregon
Although Oregon’s lawsuit is state-specific, legal analysts suggest that the case could influence how other states approach crypto regulation.
By identifying a wider range of tokens as securities, Oregon may encourage other jurisdictions to examine the platforms and assets being offered to their residents.
This could pose compliance challenges for crypto exchanges operating across state lines.
If more states adopt Oregon’s approach, exchanges like Coinbase might have to modify or limit token offerings depending on local rules—potentially fragmenting access to digital assets in the US market.
Coinbase has yet to release an official legal filing in response to Oregon’s complaint. However, its public statements signal that the company will fight back, using arguments similar to those in its ongoing battle with the SEC.
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