A fresh legal battle has erupted for Coinbase, the cryptocurrency trading heavyweight in the United States. The leading exchange is staring down the barrel of a new class-action lawsuit that alleges its entire business model has been unlawful since inception.

The plaintiffs in this high-stakes case claim that the ALGO, XLM, SOL, MANA, MATIC, NEAR, UNI, and XTZ tokens traded on Coinbase's platform are, in fact, unregistered securities. This mirrors allegations in another pending lawsuit against the crypto giant.

Filed in the Northern District of California by the West Coast law firm Scott+Scott, the lawsuit represents plaintiffs from California and Florida. It accuses Coinbase of "knowingly, willfully, and repeatedly violating state securities laws since it began doing business."

In response, Coinbase has vehemently denied the allegations as "legally unfounded," expressing full confidence in due process while vowing to "fully address the allegations" at the appropriate time.

Notably, this new case bears striking similarities to another ongoing lawsuit that initially got dismissed in February 2023 but was partially revived following a recent ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That case also centered on claims of consumer damages from Coinbase's alleged sale of unregistered securities.

However, this latest litigation is distinct from Coinbase's high-profile legal tussle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over whether certain crypto tokens constitute securities. In that ongoing battle, Coinbase recently filed a temporary appeal challenging a judge's decision to allow the SEC case to proceed.

As the crypto industry matures, regulatory scrutiny intensifies – and Coinbase finds itself repeatedly thrust into the courtroom spotlight to defend its operations and trading practices.