Coinbase Faces ‘Life or Death’ Battle as US Slams Crypto Company

Coinbase Global Inc. knew all along that it could be courting trouble with regulators.

More than two years ago, when the crypto exchange filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to start publicly trading its shares, it said there was a “high degree of uncertainty” regarding the legality of its operations, warning that “regulators may disagree” with the company’s view that it wasn’t covered by their rules.

That possibility became reality on Tuesday, when the SEC sued Coinbase for failing to register with the agency as a broker, an exchange or a clearing firm — all roles that the ...