The crypto industry received a shock when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took legal action against Binance.US and subsequently against Coinbase. The SEC alleges that Coinbase lacks the necessary licenses to operate its trading platform and has sold unregistered securities through its staking program.

Coinbase has 28 days to respond, and a resolution is unlikely in that time frame. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has announced that the company is ready to fight the regulator.

Meet the Judge: Jennifer Rearden

Jennifer Rearden, the same judge who presided over the SEC’s appeal in the Voyager bankruptcy case, has been assigned to Coinbase’s case. According to digital assets lawyer James Murphy, Rearden has been a judge for less than a year and was a litigation partner at the law firm of Gibson Dunn – the same firm that represents Binance in its SEC lawsuit.

Bill Hughes, a lawyer at Ethereum’s ConsenSys, notes that Rearden “is basically a centrist” who was nominated by Trump but blocked and eventually voted through under Biden thanks in large part to the support of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Hughes cautions against speculating too much about Rearden’s past.

It is impossible to predict the outcome of Coinbase v. SEC based solely on Judge Rearden’s appointment, but there is reason to believe that things could be worse.

As of writing, the total crypto market cap has found support at the 200-day EMA, which has held three times since May and prevented a deeper fall.

Featured image from Tingey Injury Law Firm / Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com