In November 2024, 18 Republican state attorneys general, led by Kentucky AG Russell Coleman, filed suit against the SEC and Chair Gary Gensler in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The lawsuit accused the SEC of “unconstitutional overreach” in its enforcement actions against the cryptocurrency industry, arguing the agency violated federalism and separation of powers principles.
The signatory states were Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, West Virginia, Iowa, Texas, Mississippi, Montana, Arkansas, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Utah, Louisiana, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Florida. The DeFi Education Fund also joined as a plaintiff.
Alabama was not among the 18 states. Steve Marshall did not join the coalition, despite being a Republican AG in a deep-red state and despite the lawsuit being framed as a states’-rights issue against Biden-era federal overreach—a framing Marshall has embraced on virtually every other policy front.
On June 6, 2023, the Alabama Securities Commission issued a show-cause order against Coinbase Global, Inc. and Coinbase, Inc., alleging the company violated securities law by offering its staking rewards program to Alabama residents without proper registration. Alabama was one of ten states that brought coordinated enforcement actions against Coinbase over staking at that time; the others included California, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
This action was taken while Marshall served as a commissioner on the ASC.