Coinbase abandons plans for crypto lending program after spat with the SEC

Coinbase abandons plans for crypto lending program after spat with the SEC

Announced it is abandoning its plans for Lend, its cryptocurrency lending program that drew the ire of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The decision, announced in an edited blog post published on the company's website on Friday, comes as SEC Chair Gary Gensler , highlighted in ahead of his appearance before the Senate banking committee on September 14. "As we continue our work to seek regulatory clarity for the crypto industry as a whole, we've made the difficult decision not to launch," Coinbase said in its blog post, adding that it also discontinued the waitlist. "We will not stop looking for ways to bring innovative, trusted programs and products to our customers." Coinbase said "hundreds of thousands of customers from across the country" signed up for the program. A week before Gensler's warning, the cryptocurrency exchange on September 7 revealed the if it pushes through its release of the Lend program. Coinbase said it received a Wells notice, a letter sent by the SEC when it plans to take enforcement action, saying its Lend product is considered a security. The offering, announced in June, would allow customers to earn 4% interest on their cryptocurrency holdings by lending tokens. Coinbase