Coinbase is planning to pitch federal agencies on crypto regulations following its public feud with the SEC

• Coinbase is preparing proposals for a crypto regulatory framework due out next month, the exchange's CEO said in an interview with TechCrunch.
• The interview came a day after CoinDesk reported that Coinbase's proposal would include ideas for when cryptocurrencies should be considered securities.
• It also came shortly after Coinbase walked back a crypto-lending product over which the SEC had threatened to sue the company.

Coinbase is preparing proposals for a crypto regulatory framework due out next month, the exchange's CEO said in an interview with TechCrunch.

CEO Brian Armstrong said that his company was drafting a framework to help regulators create a structure for dealing with new policy questions posed by crypto's rapid rise.

"Coinbase wants to be an advisor and a helpful advocate for how the U.S. can create that sensible regulation," Armstrong told TechCrunch. "In fact, there's a proposal that we're putting out at the end of this month, or maybe early next month, that is our proposed regulatory framework."

The TechCrunch interview came a day after CoinDesk reported that Coinbase's proposal would include ideas for when cryptocurrencies should be considered securities - an issue that has become a key concern for state and federal regulators.

It also came shortly after Coinbase was forced to walk back plans for a crypto-lending product over which the SEC had threatened to sue the company. Many considered the episode a defeat for Coinbase and Armstrong, who had accused the SEC of "sketchy behavior" in tweets publicizing the agency's threat.

Armstrong told TechCrunch that his ultimate aim was to create a unified framework for overseeing crypto - echoing a common complaint by crypto firms that regulators have prioritized punitive enforcement over a clear set of rules to follow.

"When I go to DC … they typically will ask us, 'Do you have a proposal of something we could try to shop around about how this could be regulated federally?'" said Armstrong, who complained that Coinbase must deal with "50 different state regulators for money transmission licenses, 50 for lending licenses" on top of six different federal agencies.