Oregon Sues Coinbase Over Unregistered Crypto Tokens Including XRP and ADA

• Oregon sues Coinbase for offering 31 unregistered crypto tokens, including XRP and ADA.
• State claims Coinbase misled users by promoting risky, unvetted investments.
• Lawsuit could spark similar state-level actions, reshaping crypto regulation.

Oregon has brought legal action against Coinbase, charging the cryptocurrency exchange with selling and marketing unregistered digital currencies to citizens. The lawsuit may disrupt the way cryptocurrencies are treated at the state level, particularly as it expands beyond earlier federal enforcement.
State-Level Crackdown Escalates

Sued by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, the lawsuit alleges Coinbase violated local securities regulations by listing 31 crypto tokens which ought to have been registered prior to being made available to the public. The list includes big names such as XRP, Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Chainlink (LINK), and Uniswap (UNI).

Unlike the SEC’s previous complaint that involved 18 tokens, Oregon’s case involves 13 more, signaling an increased willingness on the part of states to enter the crypto enforcement arena on their own terms.

Oregon Attorney General Rayfield claims that Coinbase earned the trust of Oregonians but used it abusively by promoting unregulated and volatile investments. According to the lawsuit, as the site reaped millions in fee income from transactions, numerous local investors experienced financial losses.

“Coinbase gained the trust of users in Oregon and then put them into investments that weren’t properly supervised. People lost money as a result, and we think there needs to be accountability,” said Rayfield.

Coinbase Pushes Back Against Claims

In return, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal denounced the action, saying the state is overreaching by bringing the suit on behalf of over 500,000 residents without direct input. He cautioned that this kind of state enforcement could lead to fragmented rules and hurt the larger crypto ecosystem.

Grewal stated that the lawsuit not only targets Coinbase but poses a threat to innovation and investor access across the entire digital asset space.

XRP is again in the legal headlines. A federal court has previously stated XRP isn’t a security under certain circumstances. But now Oregon takes the opposing stance. The new contention resurfaces the debate with implications that interpretations could be state versus federal. That is fueling renewed compliance ambiguity for Ripple and other industry participants.

We finally got a copy of the Oregon AG complaint. If there were any doubt about the motivation behind it, look no further than section 9, where it 1) omits Judge Failla’s order granting interlocutory appeal of the @SECGov case; 2) omits any mention of Judge Torres’ decision in… pic.twitter.com/mIXxtQ7ojH

— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) April 18, 2025

The resolution will change token definition and regulation depending on where a token or offering. Which was subject to which law potentially precipitating future judicial contests elsewhere.

While this is a state-level case, the ripple effects could be national in scope. If Oregon prevails, other states may follow suit with similar moves, creating a patchwork legal environment for crypto firms operating in multiple states.

For Coinbase, this is just another test in its ongoing battle with regulators. For the broader industry, it’s a reminder that crypto compliance is no longer a federal matter.