The top legal executive of Coinbase has dismissed as baseless the allegations that the cryptocurrency exchange was averse to Solana, which he said Coinbase had spent millions of dollars to defend the blockchain network.
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal made these comments in response to claims on X (formerly Twitter) about the exchange’s alleged hostility towards Solana.
Inside Story: How Coinbase Fights Back Against SEC
The exchange has been quietly resisting the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s contentious classification of Solana as a security.
“My team and I wake up every day thinking about how we defeat this outrageous attack,” Grewal declared in his response.
He emphasized that they were “all in” on this issue. The message was clear. They aren’t stopping, because they believe in SOL.
Technical Hiccups Fuel Community Speculation
Coinbase Solana network withdrawal and deposit delays have raised fresh controversy within the crypto community. The exchange, however, blames the problems on infrastructure issues. Skeptics, however, saw it from a different angle. Many people interpreted these technical issues as an indication that Coinbase favors Ethereum over Solana.
To this concern, Andrew Allen, a protocol specialist at Coinbase, intervened to address the situation. He said that the exchange “does not hate Solana.” He assured that more updates will come out next week, and hopefully things will get better.
Mixed Reactions From Crypto Giants And Influencers
Specialist in Coinbase protocols, Andrew Allen, also underlined that the exchange intends to improve rather than despise Solana. He added the conversation would include additional specifics about its intentions by the next week.
However, the reaction was far from unanimous. XRP supporters had much to say against the exchange, citing their delisting due to the lawsuit filed by SEC in 2020. TRON Network’s founder Justin Sun joined the debate with his list of grievances as well.
It’s fair to be critical of Coinbase for a bunch of stuff lately, like slow withdrawals to Solana (and other chains, incl base), way too many locked accounts that take forever to get unlocked, hilariously bad customer service screenshots, and a confusing track record of what… https://t.co/y7SVD0TdTM
— Zeneca
(@Zeneca) January 25, 2025
Industry Experts Weigh In On Coinbase’s Role
The Zeneca, the founder of Zen Academy, commented on the matter as well. Sure, he admits, Coinbase is experiencing operational difficulties lately – it’s been experiencing delayed withdrawals and poor customer support. But in his opinion, the exchange played a crucial role in defending the interests of cryptocurrencies.
According to him, the exchange continues to be one of the leading advocates for the cryptocurrency area and has long protected it from the US government and its regulators.
Huh? I’ve spent millions of dollars of @coinbase $ to defend SOL against an @SECGov lawsuit falsely accusing it of being a security. My team and I wake up every day thinking about how we defeat this outrageous attack. And we aren’t stopping, because we believe in SOL. If that’s… https://t.co/GMKy0QtLcA
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) January 25, 2025
The controversy comes as Solana has been showing quite remarkable growth lately, with reports indicating the blockchain absorbed an additional $2.5 billion USDC amid renewed meme activity.
Moreover, applications on Solana have shown tremendous performance, capturing more than 73% of all crypto app earnings in a single day. While these operational challenges will continue to hinder the network’s growth, such metrics indicate very strong ecosystem fundamentals that align well with Coinbase’s expressed support for the network.
Featured image from Fortune, chart from TradingView
