PANews reported on January 8 that according to The Block, Katherine Polk Failla, a judge at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, approved Coinbase's request for an interim appeal on Tuesday, temporarily suspending the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) lawsuit against the exchange. An interim appeal is an appeal filed before the judge makes a final ruling, and such requests are rarely approved. The case will next be submitted to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals for trial.
Judge Failla noted in her order that the case raises a key legal question about the scope of application of the Howey test to crypto assets, an issue that is subject to significant disagreement and whose resolution will help advance the final decision of the SEC's enforcement action. She emphasized that due to "conflicting authoritative interpretations" of the application of the Howey test to crypto assets, further clarification from the Second Circuit is needed.
Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said the decision was another blow to the SEC leadership’s attempts to create continued uncertainty and confusion, and thanked Judge Failla for allowing the interlocutory appeal.
