The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Coinbase in a unanimous decision on Thursday in the crypto exchange's latest dispute before the nation's top legal venue.

The 9-0 ruling did not address Coinbase's crypto-related practices, nor is it likely to impact the hot-button issue of American crypto regulation.

The Legal Battle

Instead, the decision addressed a single bureaucratic element of Coinbase's ongoing legal battle against a class-action group of disgruntled customers.

In 2021, these customers accused the exchange of employing false and misleading tactics in promoting a Dogecoin sweepstakes.

Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal responded to the ruling on Twitter, stating, "Some you win. Some you lose. We are grateful for having had the opportunity to present our case to the Court and appreciate the Court's consideration of this matter."

Arbitration vs. Court Decision

Previously, the crypto exchange sought to settle the case via arbitration, citing user agreements that every Coinbase customer consents to use the platform.

However, all nine Supreme Court justices agreed that a lower court should decide which of the two agreements should take precedence. This opposed the ruling that the case should be settled in arbitration, as Coinbase desired.

"Basic legal principles establish the answer," Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in the Court's opinion. "[Coinbase's] arguments are unpersuasive."

The Sweepstakes Controversy

The ongoing class-action suit against Coinbase, filed by former Coinbase user David Suski, alleges that the exchange's 2021 "Trade Doge, Win Doge" contest intentionally misled customers.

They were led to believe that they needed to buy or sell $100 worth of Dogecoin to be eligible to win cash prizes.

The contest's fine print revealed that you could also enter for free by mailing in an index card with your name, address, and birthday. This was due to the United States' stringent laws against sweepstakes that involve purchase requirements.

Impact on Arbitration

Suski and other plaintiffs argue that if they had known of the loophole, they would have only spent $100 on DOGE.

While today's decision will likely have little impact on crypto's ongoing battle for regulatory legitimacy, it did notch one minor achievement. It marks the first time a U.S. Supreme Court Justice has ever had to write the word "Dogecoin" in an official Court opinion.

Landmark Decision

In a landmark decision on May 23, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Coinbase regarding the $1.2 million Dogecoin sweepstakes in 2021. The Supreme Court stated that a California court had correctly used its authority to resolve whether Coinbase can force users into arbitration.

The opinion in Coinbase v. Suski emphasized that arbitration is a matter of "contract and consent" and that when disputes are related to competing contracts, a court should decide on primary agreements between the parties.