Paul Grewal, the Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, announced his departure from the exchange but will remain as an adviser.
By Nikhilesh De, Jesse Hamilton Jul 9, 2026, 8:31 p.m. 2 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on Paul Grewal (CoinDesk)Paul Grewal, who served as Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer, is stepping down from his position following the company's lengthy legal battle with U.S. regulators. Coinbase also revealed other senior management changes.
According to a statement released on Thursday, Grewal will be joining a startup while continuing his role as an adviser for Coinbase. Molly Abraham will take over as general counsel, and Ryan Van Grack is being promoted to vice chairman, where he is expected to take on a more prominent role.
Grewal expressed pride in leading Coinbase's legal team during a critical period, stating, "Navigating Coinbase's legal challenges has been the highlight of my six years here. Our legal victories ensured that the future of crypto in this country was secure and promising."
He noted that he would still provide advisory support to Coinbase and would assist with the company's trust charter initiatives through the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Molly Abraham has been part of Coinbase since March 2021, overseeing several legal teams as the vice president of legal. Before her tenure at Coinbase, she worked as general counsel for a startup focused on electric flying vehicles, as per her LinkedIn profile.
Ryan Van Grack, previously the general counsel at Citadel Securities, had been responsible for Coinbase's extensive litigation efforts.
The most significant legal challenge Coinbase faced was from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a lawsuit in 2023, accusing the company of functioning as an unregistered broker, clearinghouse, and exchange for securities. This lawsuit was initiated under the leadership of former Chair Gary Gensler, who also pursued similar actions against other exchanges.
Following President Donald Trump's return to office, the SEC decided to withdraw the lawsuit.
During Grewal's time at Coinbase, the firm also sought legal recourse to access internal SEC documents regarding its regulatory stance on cryptocurrency and pushed for the SEC to establish crypto regulations.
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SpaceX IPO Drives Tokenized Equity Volumes to Record as Stablecoin Market Cap Falls
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Stablecoin market cap fell to $312B in June, its largest monthly drop since TerraUSD, while tokenized equity volumes surged 145% to a record $3.86B.
By CoinDesk ResearchJul 7, 2026Stablecoin market cap fell to $312B in June, its largest monthly drop since TerraUSD, while tokenized equity volumes surged 145% to a record $3.86B.
Why it matters:
Stablecoin market cap fell to $312B in June, its largest monthly drop since TerraUSD, while tokenized equity volumes surged 145% to a record $3.86B.
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