New Jersey’s Bureau of Securities has rescinded a 2023 cease-and-desist order that barred Coinbase from accepting new staking deposits from state residents and imposed a $5 million civil penalty. The Oct. 30 notice, signed by Acting Bureau Chief Keith A. Alt, withdrew both the order and the penalty without prejudice and without any determination on the merits of the underlying claims.

Coinbase disclosed the development in its third-quarter securities filing. The company stated that the regulator notified it on Oct. 29 of the plan to rescind the action. Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong said New Jersey users would regain staking access “very soon.” As of early November, Coinbase’s public eligibility guidance continued to list New Jersey among jurisdictions where customers cannot stake new principal.

Background of the 2023 Order

The New Jersey Bureau of Securities issued the original order on June 6, 2023, against Coinbase Global and Coinbase Inc. Regulators alleged that the company’s staking services constituted unregistered securities under state law. Staking allows holders of certain proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies to commit assets to help validate network transactions in return for protocol rewards. Coinbase operates the process on behalf of customers and retains a portion of the rewards as a fee.

Under the order and related interim agreements, New Jersey residents could not add new principal to staking positions. Customers with existing eligible balances remained able to earn rewards, though those rewards could not be restaked or compounded. Withdrawn principal and earned rewards also could not be returned to the service. Similar restrictions applied in several other states that joined the 2023 enforcement wave.

Coinbase has maintained that its staking products do not qualify as securities and complied with the preliminary orders while contesting them. The company previously estimated that New Jersey customers missed more than $15 million in potential staking rewards during the restriction period.

Details of the Rescission

The Oct. 30 notice explicitly states that the Coinbase order is rescinded without prejudice. That language leaves the Bureau of Securities free to initiate a new enforcement action in the future. No finding was made regarding whether Coinbase’s staking program requires registration under New Jersey securities law.

The withdrawal ends the formal restriction on new staking activity that had been in place for more than three years. Coinbase has not yet published a specific reactivation date for New Jersey customers.

Remaining State Actions

California, Maryland, Wisconsin and Washington continue to pursue enforcement actions related to Coinbase’s staking services. California and Wisconsin, like New Jersey previously, maintained bans on new staking while their cases proceeded. Washington allows staking but seeks a $4 million fine. Coinbase has estimated that California customers alone missed more than $89 million in rewards since 2023.

Several other states that brought similar actions in 2023 later withdrew them. Alabama, Kentucky, Illinois, South Carolina and Vermont dismissed, vacated or rescinded their proceedings in March and April 2025. New York separately expanded staking access for residents in October 2025.

The New Jersey decision removes one of the longer-standing state-level restrictions on Coinbase’s retail staking product. The company has indicated it will restore service for eligible New Jersey customers once operational steps are complete.