New Jersey Plans to Lift Coinbase Staking Order After Three Years
Coinbase disclosed in a quarterly filing that New Jersey's securities regulator told the exchange it intends to rescind a 2023 staking enforcement order. The withdrawal is planned but not yet completed, and New Jersey customers still cannot add new principal to staking.
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What the Filing Says
Coinbase disclosed in its quarterly filing that New Jersey's securities regulator informed the exchange on October 29, 2026, of its intention to rescind the summary penalty and cease-and-desist order issued against it. The filing describes a planned withdrawal, not a completed one, and gives no date for when New Jersey residents can resume staking new funds. Coinbase's own customer eligibility guidance still lists New Jersey among restricted states.
The Restrictions in Practice
Under current restrictions, New Jersey customers cannot stake new principal. Customers with existing eligible balances can keep earning rewards, but those rewards cannot be restaked or compounded. Customers may unstake at any time, though principal withdrawn and rewards already earned cannot be returned to the service. Coverage that describes the policy as a full three-year halt in rewards overlooks these existing balances. Coinbase groups New Jersey with California, Maryland and Wisconsin in its restrictions table, while Washington residents remain eligible to stake.
Origins of the Dispute
The New Jersey Bureau of Securities issued its original order against Coinbase Global and Coinbase Inc. on June 6, 2023, alleging that the staking products required registration under state securities law. The bureau described staking as committing crypto assets to support a proof-of-stake network in exchange for protocol rewards. Coinbase has consistently rejected the view that its staking services are securities. In July 2023 it agreed to prevent retail customers in California, New Jersey, South Carolina and Wisconsin from staking additional assets while proceedings continued, followed by a similar Maryland agreement that October. Crypto staked before the orders was unaffected.
A Broader Pattern of Withdrawals
New Jersey's planned move follows decisions by Alabama, Kentucky, Illinois, South Carolina and Vermont, which Coinbase's filing says dismissed, vacated, rescinded or withdrew their actions in March and April 2025. South Carolina's dismissal came through a joint agreement with the state attorney general's securities division, after which Coinbase restored staking in its app and website. In April 2025, Coinbase's Ryan VanGrack urged the remaining states to end their cases, arguing the restrictions singled out Coinbase while residents could stake through other providers. The company estimated that customers in California, New Jersey, Maryland and Wisconsin had missed more than $90 million in rewards. That figure covers the four states together; no separate New Jersey total was given.
Source Discrepancies
The two reports differ in emphasis on timing. The Defiant characterizes the state's action as a withdrawal that clears the path for a restart, and quotes Coinbase saying customer access will return "very soon." Crypto.news reports the same filing but stresses that the withdrawal is intended rather than completed, and that Coinbase's guidance still shows New Jersey as restricted. The filing supports the more cautious reading: the rescission is disclosed as planned, and no restart date has been published.
Why It Matters
For Traders
New Jersey customers still cannot add new staked principal until Coinbase updates its eligibility guidance, so any restart timing is unconfirmed.
For Investors
The sequence of state withdrawals since 2025 suggests regulatory pressure on Coinbase's staking business is easing, though several states remain in dispute.
For Builders
Exchange-hosted staking remains subject to state-by-state eligibility rules, so products relying on it need jurisdiction-level compliance logic.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Read the full disclaimer.
