New Jersey drops staking lawsuit against Coinbase after three years

New Jersey's attorney general lifted the cease-and-desist order against Coinbase's staking service on Monday, ending a legal action that had kept Garden State residents locked out of the program since June 2023.

The order's removal means New Jersey users can resume staking through Coinbase's platform. During the three-year freeze, those users are estimated to have missed at least $15 million in rewards. Across all states still maintaining staking restrictions, the broader figure exceeds $110 million.

The state's retreat follows a pattern that accelerated after the SEC dismissed its own parallel case against Coinbase in February 2026. Illinois, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, and Alabama have all withdrawn similar actions since that federal reversal. New Jersey is the latest to follow.

The original 2023 case rested on the argument that Coinbase's staking arrangement, where the exchange handles validator operations on behalf of customers, constituted an unregistered securities offering. Coinbase argued it was a service contract. New Jersey's withdrawal does not resolve that underlying legal question.