Coinbase-Dogecoin Legal Dispute Escalates to U.S. Supreme Court

By: Eva Baxter

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to review a case involving cryptocurrency exchange giant, Coinbase and its users in a dispute over a Dogecoin sweepstakes. A point of contention is Coinbase's attempt to move the disagreement into private arbitration versus it being handled in the public court system.

The legal dispute stems from a sweepstakes staged by Coinbase in 2021, with allegations from users that the platform's advertising was misleading. The platform's arbitration agreement with its users came into question when users who felt deceived, brought a class-action lawsuit in federal court. They allege that they were lured into participating in the sweepstakes under the false pretense of winning Dogecoin prizes.

Earlier, Coinbase's request to have the matter moved to arbitration was denied by a federal judge in California and upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court's decision to review the case is a crucial development for companies that use arbitration clauses. It could potentially set the precedent for future user agreement enforcement, especially in the rapidly-evolving digital currency trading landscape.

In the midst of the ongoing legal dispute, Coinbase continues to innovate its services, introducing new trading options such as crypto futures trading for its users.