Protocols & Policy · State enforcement
Coinbase says New Jersey customers can again earn crypto rewards
Coinbase said New Jersey customers can stake eligible crypto again. Coinbase posted a New Jersey Bureau of Securities notice dated Oct. 30 rescinding the 2023 order without prejudice.
Coinbase says New Jersey customers can again earn crypto rewards
New Jersey customers of Coinbase can again earn staking rewards on the exchange, Coinbase said on Tuesday, ending a gap that began when the state's securities regulator ordered the company in June 2023 to stop offering the program to residents. Staking means locking up tokens to help run a blockchain in exchange for rewards paid by that network's protocol.
"Staking is so back in New Jersey," Coinbase said in a post on X at 10:48 a.m. ET on Nov. 3. "Garden Staters can now earn up to 12% APY staking eligible crypto on Coinbase" [1]. APY, or annual percentage yield, is a yearly rate that includes compounding, and 12% is the top of the range Coinbase gives: in a note posted the same minute, the company said "the referenced rewards rate is based on the estimated protocol rate, which is subject to change," and that "enrollment in staking is available only in eligible jurisdictions and for eligible networks" [1]. Coinbase did not list which assets qualify in New Jersey.
How the order worked
On June 6, 2023, the New Jersey Bureau of Securities issued a Summary Penalty and Cease and Desist Order against Coinbase Global, Inc. and Coinbase, Inc. [2]. The bureau found that Coinbase's staking offerings were securities that had to be registered with the state, ordered the company to stop "offering for sale any security, including the Coinbase Staking Securities, to or from New Jersey" unless registered, covered or exempt, and assessed a $5 million civil penalty [2]. The order counted about 145,270 New Jersey-based investors holding about $210.3 million in the program as of March 29, 2023, out of roughly 3.5 million U.S. investors and $4.8 billion in assets [2].
What the record shows
A Bureau of Securities notice dated Oct. 30, 2026, which Coinbase posted, is signed in the name of Keith A. Alt, acting bureau chief, and states: "The Coinbase Order is rescinded, without prejudice" [3]. The notice Coinbase posted says the rescission comes "without an adjudication on the merits" and "without foreclosing" future enforcement against Coinbase [3]. Le Coin has not found the notice on a New Jersey government site or a court record showing a related lawsuit was dismissed. On Nov. 2, Coinbase reposted a statement by Molly Abraham, a Coinbase employee, saying New Jersey "has formally dropped its staking lawsuit against Coinbase"; that claim rests on Coinbase's side of the record [4].
| Date (ET) | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| March 29, 2023 | About 145,270 New Jersey investors hold about $210.3M in Coinbase staking, per the bureau | [2] |
| June 6, 2023 | Bureau of Securities orders Coinbase to cease and desist offering staking in New Jersey; $5M penalty | [2] |
| Oct. 30, 2026 | Bureau notice of rescission (as posted by Coinbase): 2023 order rescinded without prejudice, without a merits ruling | [3] |
| Nov. 3, 2026, 10:48 a.m. | Coinbase says staking is available again to New Jersey customers | [1] |
Sources: New Jersey Bureau of Securities orders of June 6, 2023 and Oct. 30, 2026; Coinbase post on X, Nov. 3, 2026.
The objection
"Without prejudice" is the limit here. The notice Coinbase posted does not say staking is not a security under New Jersey law, and it expressly keeps the bureau's ability to act again. By the notice's own terms, the bureau's 2023 view that staking offerings needed state registration was not withdrawn on the merits; only the order enforcing it was.
The tell (Le Coin's view)
In Le Coin's view, Coinbase turned the product back on four days after the date on the notice it posted, and it did so with its own post rather than a state announcement. The restoration rests on Coinbase's word and the notice Coinbase posted; the legal question the 2023 order raised was set aside, not answered.
Sources
- Coinbase (@coinbase), post on X, Nov. 3, 2026, 10:48 a.m. ET, and legal note posted 10:48 a.m. ET. https://x.com/coinbase/status/2117645058010947988 (accessed 11:22 a.m. ET, Nov. 3, 2026)
- New Jersey Bureau of Securities, Summary Penalty and Cease and Desist Order, Coinbase Global, Inc. and Coinbase, Inc., June 6, 2023. https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases23/2023-0606_Coinbase-Penalty-and-C-D.pdf (accessed 11:24 a.m. ET, Nov. 3, 2026)
- New Jersey Bureau of Securities, Notice of Rescission of Summary Penalty and Cease and Desist Order, Oct. 30, 2026 (copy hosted by Coinbase). https://assets.ctfassets.net/sygt3q11s4a9/UP8DDH65wMBLgeI2RbWRR/90945f6360884dfa75aadcbac57d4f9f/Coinbase_Withdrawal_Order_10_30_26.pdf (accessed 11:24 a.m. ET, Nov. 3, 2026)
- Molly Abraham (@mollyisonchain), post on X, Nov. 2, 2026, 1:30 p.m. ET, reposted by @coinbase at 2:01 p.m. ET. https://x.com/mollyisonchain/status/2117323598474146272 (accessed 11:31 a.m. ET, Nov. 3, 2026)
Holding the Corner.
Not financial advice.