Cramer Says Shocked DoJ 'Avoided Going After Binance' After SEC's Coinbase Lawsuit

Coinbase Global, Inc. COIN shares shed 12% on Tuesday after the SEC filed a broad-based lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange, alleging that many parts of its business violate securities laws.

What Happened: CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer on Wednesday took to Twitter to offer his thoughts on the regulatory clampdown.  He resented the Justice Department has not come after Binance.

"While I am no fan about the way Coinbase has conducted itself, I am shocked that the Justice Department has avoided going after Binance which has people acknowledging it is like SBF," Cramer said.

The stock picker equated the situation at Binance to Sam Bankman-Fried's tainted FTX exchange, which has folded up due to a liquidity crisis.

Binance is a closely-held cryptocurrency founded by Changpeng Zhao in 2017. It is also facing a legal battle with the SEC, which has pulled it up for acting in "blatant disregard" of US securities laws.

The DoJ, which is probing the exchange for money laundering, has so far refrained from bringing yo charges against it, a Reuters report said in December.

See Also: Best Cryptocurrency Exchanges

Why It's Important: The SEC served Coinbase a Wells Notice in March and therefore the lawsuit was not a total surprise.

Coinbase previously raised the point about whether the underlying digital assets it holds can be defined under securities under existing law.

Commenting on the development, Canaccord Genuity analyst Joseph Vafi said, "Against this quite expansive and dynamic legal/regulatory backdrop, it is challenging to assess when and how much impact there could be to the COIN business model as a result of the current suit."

Coinbase shares rose 2.60% to $52.95 in premarket trading, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Read Next: Binance, Coinbase CEOs See Personal Fortunes Plummet By $1.7B After SEC Crackdown

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