Coinbase's filing described the query as "a novel legal question in a regulatory action against a market leader that could shape or distort a multi-trillion-dollar industry." [...] The exchange said "no appellate court has addressed whether a digital asset transaction carrying no post-sale obligations can be an 'investment contract'" under the Howey Test that's the legal standard for determining what assets are securities. Coinbase also argued that the SEC is acting inconsistently, because it pursued a similar appeal in its case against Ripple.