NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized stockholder rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Coinbase Global, Inc. (“Coinbase” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: COIN) in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Coinbase securities between April 14, 2021 and July 26, 2022, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”). Investors have until October 3, 2022 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Click here to participate in the action.
Coinbase provides financial infrastructure and technology products and services for the cryptocurrency economy (or “cryptoeconomy”) in the U.S. and internationally. The Company purportedly offers the primary financial account in the cryptoeconomy for retailers, a marketplace with a pool of liquidity for transacting in crypto assets for institutions, and technology and services that enable ecosystem partners to build crypto-based applications and securely accept crypto assets as payment.
On May 10, 2022, in its quarterly report for the first quarter of 2022, released after the markets closed, Coinbase disclosed that: “[B]ecause custodially held crypto assets may be considered to be the property of a bankruptcy estate, in the event of a bankruptcy, the crypto assets we hold in custody on behalf of our customers could be subject to bankruptcy proceedings and such customers could be treated as our general unsecured creditors.”
Following this disclosure, the price of Coinbase’s Class A common stock fell $19.27 per share, or 26.4%, to close at $53.72 per share on May 11, 2022.
In a subsequent tweet commenting on the disclosure, Coinbase’s Chief Executive Officer, Defendant Brian Armstrong, stated: “We should have updated our retail terms sooner, and we didn’t communicate proactively when this risk disclosure was added. My deepest apologies, and a good learning moment for us as we make future changes.”
On May 12, 2022, Professor Adam J. Levitin, a professor of law, at Georgetown University Law Center, published a draft of an article entitled “Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins: Unpriced Credit Risk in Cryptocurrency,” set to appear in the Texas Law Review, which argues that in the event a cryptocurrency exchange files for bankruptcy, bankruptcy courts are likely to deem custodial holdings of cryptocurrencies to be property of the bankrupt exchange, rather than the property of its customers.
Then, on July 25, 2022, after the markets closed, Bloomberg reported that Coinbase is facing an SEC probe into whether it improperly let Americans trade digital assets that should have been registered as securities.
On this news, the price of Coinbase’s Class A common stock fell $14.14 per share, or 21.08%, to close at $52.93 per share on July 26, 2022.
The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Coinbase custodially held crypto assets on behalf of its customers, which assets Coinbase knew or recklessly disregarded could qualify as the property of a bankruptcy estate, making those assets potentially subject to bankruptcy proceedings in which Coinbase’s customers would be treated as the Company’s general unsecured creditors; (ii) Coinbase allowed Americans to trade digital assets that Coinbase knew or recklessly disregarded should have been registered as securities with the SEC; (iii) the foregoing conduct subjected the Company to a heightened risk of regulatory and governmental scrutiny and enforcement action; and (iv) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired Coinbase shares and suffered a loss, are a long-term stockholder, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker or Melissa Fortunato by email at investigations@bespc.com, telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you.
About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
