That guidance is about ICOs - Initial Coin Offerings. No disagreement, those definitely look like securities.

But Coinbase doesn't host any ICOs! And they reject ICO tokens! Here is Coinbase's guidance to its users on that point:

https://help.coinbase.com/en/coinbase/getting-started/crypto...

They say as much in their press release, if anyone would read it:

"Coinbase has a rigorous process to analyze and review each digital asset before making it available on our exchange... This process includes an analysis of whether the asset could be considered to be a security, and also considers regulatory compliance and information security aspects of the asset. 90%+ of assets that we review are not ultimately listed on Coinbase because they do not meet these standards."

Coinbase doesn't list digital assets that could be considered securities! Someone needs to actually point to what they're doing wrong.

> But Coinbase doesn't host any ICOs! And they reject ICO tokens!

Sorting Coinbase token pairs alphabetically I only had to get as far as AAVE.

> The firm, originally named ETHLend, raised $16.2 million in an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017, during which time it sold 1 billion units of its AAVE cryptocurrency - originally named LEND. [1]

Coinbase doesn't publish their standards or approaches, and frankly, it's very much in their interests not to declare something a security. I suspect their process is less than rigorous.

> Coinbase doesn't list digital assets that could be considered securities! Someone needs to actually point to what they're doing wrong.

I believe I linked to the document above :) maybe their lawyers would like to give 'er a skim?

[1] https://www.kraken.com/learn/what-is-aave-lend

Coinbase's position is that that ICO was not an investment contract. Not everything called an ICO is an invetment contract - the point of that SEC page is to provide guidance on when an ICO is an investment contract. Coinbase's lawyers have certainly given that document a skim, they reference it here where they talk about securities law:

https://help.coinbase.com/en/coinbase/privacy-and-security/o...

There is a disagreement of fact - Coinbase says they don't list any securities, and the SEC claims they do and are violating securities law, without providing any specifics. Assuming the SEC goes forward, a court will have to decide.