Key Takeaways
- A new lawsuit in Oregon against Coinbase now calls XRP an unregistered security even after the recent SEC settlement.
- The Oregon AG sued the Coinbase crypto exchange for allegedly offering and selling at least 31 unregistered securities.
- The new lawsuit was filed after the SEC declared Coinbase and other exchanges free of those same allegations.
XRP may soon be back in legal crosshairs after the Oregon AG called it an unregistered security in a new lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. The AG listed 31 crypto assets allegedly sold in violation of the state’s laws.
In the fresh regulatory saga, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield sued the Coinbase crypto exchange on April 18, 2025, for allegedly offering and selling crypto assets that constitute unregistered securities. The new lawsuit has again drawn attention to reviving a familiar classification: more than 30 tokens, including XRP, have once again been labeled as securities. The court document stated:
“Coinbase has for years defied the regulatory structure and requirements established by the Oregon Legislative Assembly to protect Oregon investors […] Coinbase has continuously and repeatedly violated the Oregon Securities Law, which describes liability to persons who sell or successfully solicit the sale of a security in violation of the Oregon Securities Law.”
True Kitchen Sink Lawsuit
Commenting on the issue, Paradigm’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Justin Slaughter, noted that the Oregon AG’s complaint was a “true kitchen sink lawsuit,” as it covered significantly more tokens than the original Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ‘s case.
According to the lawsuit by the Oregon AG, Coinbase offered and sold 31 cryptocurrencies as investment contracts. The list of alleged “unregistered securities” as named in the suit include AAVE, ADA, ALGO, AMP, APE, ATOM, AVAX, AXS, CHZ, COMP, DASH, DDX, EOS, FIL, FLOW, ICP, LCX, LINK, MATIC, MIR, MKR, NEAR, POWR, RLY, SAND, SOL, UNI, VGX, WLUNA, XRP, and XYO.
The lawsuit, which the Oregon AG calls broader, is similar to the just-concluded SEC complaint against Coinbase. Many observers now see the fresh attempt to file the case as an attempt by some parties to revive the now-ended regulation by enforcement following the agency’s decision to bury the case.
Resurrecting the Dead
FOX Business journalist and Podcast host Eleanor Terret noted that Rayfield’s complaint names an extra 18 cryptocurrencies compared to the ones that were in the original SEC case, which listed 13 tokens: SOL, ADA, MATIC, FIL, SAND, AXS, CHZ, FLOW, ICP, NEAR, VGX, DASH, and NEXO.
The SEC sued Coinbase in June 2023, alleging that the platform was an unregistered securities exchange. The regulatory agency then argued that the exchange had illegally sold unregistered securities through its staking program and had illegally operated as an unregistered broker-dealer. The lawsuit was dismissed in February 2025.
Commenting on the new suit by the Oregon AG, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal said in a social media post the lawsuit was an attempt at “resurrecting the dead” by launching a “copycat case” of the just concluded SEC vs. Coinbase case. Stuart further stated that the case was an embarrassing waste of Oregon taxpayer dollars, considering that the SEC had already dismissed the case with prejudice.
Conclusion
The Oregon AG’s new lawsuit comes as the new US administration is burning the midnight oil to establish bipartisan legislation meant to introduce sustainable regulatory clarity and stabilize the market structure in the nation’s digital asset economy. Observers believe the timing is suspect as it raises concerns about an underlying malicious intent behind the suit, which they point out as a form of political manipulation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is XRP a security or commodity?
A federal judge ruled in 2023 that XRP is not a security when sold to retail investors on public exchanges and must be accepted. This was after the SEC dropped its appeal and former Chair Gary Gensler, who stepped down earlier this year.
Does the crypto industry want XRP to be a security?
As soon as a court ruling in Ripple’s case with the SEC indicated that the digital asset XRP was not a security, the crypto industry responded positively to the news. Crypto exchanges relisted XRP, and many hoped this would lead to an end to the perceived war on crypto waged by the SEC.
How would banks benefit from using XRP in the future?
Using XRP as a bridge currency, financial institutions could execute cross-border transactions more efficiently. This would eliminate the need to hold multiple fiat currencies, reducing transaction costs and settlement times.
