State regulators in Oregon have launched an aggressive legal campaign against Coinbase, alleging that the cryptocurrency exchange enabled the unlawful trading of 31 digital assets classified as unregistered securities. The complaint, filed by the Oregon Attorney General’s office, targets a broad array of tokens including Ripple’s XRP, Cardano’s ADA, Solana’s SOL, Chainlink’s LINK, and many others, reigniting the debate over crypto securities classification at the state level.
A Sweeping ‘Kitchen Sink’ Lawsuit
Justin Slaughter, vice president of regulatory affairs at Paradigm and a former senior adviser to both the SEC and CFTC, described the Oregon action as “a true kitchen sink lawsuit.” He noted on X that the state’s complaint covers many more tokens than the SEC’s previous enforcement actions, including UNI, AAVE, FLOW, MKR, and even XRP — a token that the SEC had partially cleared in its own litigation with Ripple.
The list of tokens specifically named in the complaint includes: 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. According to the filing, Coinbase made these assets available for trading in Oregon through its main platform and Prime service, where they were bought and sold for U.S. dollars, other fiat currencies, and cryptocurrencies at consistent prices, thereby constituting “unregistered securities transactions.”
Federal vs. State Regulatory Divide
The Oregon lawsuit stands in stark contrast to the recent federal policy shift under the Trump administration. The SEC has dropped its lawsuits against both Coinbase (filed in June 2023) and Ripple Labs (filed in December 2020) without imposing fines or requiring business model changes. In March 2025, the SEC abandoned its appeal in the Ripple case, effectively ending a four-year legal battle over XRP’s security status.
Industry observers point out that while federal regulators have stepped back, state authorities are filling the vacuum with their own interpretations of securities laws. Coinbase has vowed to defend itself, arguing that the tokens listed have undergone rigorous legal review and do not meet the Howey test definition of a security. The exchange’s legal team is expected to challenge Oregon’s broad characterization of investment contracts.
Call for Federal Legislation Intensifies
The Oregon case adds to growing fragmentation in U.S. crypto regulation, as states like New York and California have also pursued independent enforcement actions. Without clear federal guidelines, each state can apply its own criteria for what constitutes a security, creating a patchwork of compliance burdens for crypto firms. Industry groups, including Paradigm and the Blockchain Association, are renewing calls for Congress to pass comprehensive crypto legislation that preempts state-level securities laws.
The next hearing in the Oregon lawsuit is scheduled for September 2026. The outcome could set a precedent for how state regulators treat digital assets, potentially influencing the strategies of other states and the future of crypto trading in the U.S.