Vishal Gupta Leaves Coinbase
- Vishal Gupta, Coinbase’s head of exchange, is reportedly leaving the company to start a new project.
- Gupta plans to remain in the crypto space after his departure from the firm.
- Coinbase has become the subject of increased regulatory scrutiny as watchdogs step up their crypto policing efforts.
Background on Vishal Gupta
Vishal Gupta was most recently Coinbase’s senior director of product management and before joining the team at Coinbase, he was the head of USD Coin for stablecoin issuer Circle. He took to Twitter to share news of his departure and said that it was “a privilege to help launch and grow the stablecoin that has become an industry standard.”
Regulatory Scrutiny on Coinbase
The largest crypto exchange in the US has become increasingly scrutinized by regulators. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) served Coinbase with a Wells Notice which signals enforcement action plans against the company. The notice concerned unspecified digital assets listed on Coinbase, its staking service Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime, and Coinbase Wallet. In response, Coinbase called out SEC’s approach as “unfair and unreasonable.”
Coinbase Responds
In response to SEC’s action against them, Coinbase stated that they believe rulemaking and legislation are better tools for defining laws for their industry than enforcement actions. They added that should it be necessary they welcome “the opportunity for Coinbase and the broader crypto community to get clarity in court.”