Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc. v. Ford

Dismissed without prejudice on abstention — no merits ruling9th Cir.Platform v. State

Docket last checked September 4, 2026. Snapshot — not legal advice.

As of September 25, 2026, Nevada has a restriction on prediction-market platforms currently in effect. Nevada status and cases →

Overview

The shortest case on this tracker, and the only one decided on abstention. Coinbase filed on February 4, 2026 with an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order, trying to get ahead of an ex parte application Nevada had pending in state court. It was over in three days.

Nevada had already sued Coinbase in the First Judicial District Court in Carson City (No. 26-OC-000301B) under the Gaming Control Act, and that court issued an ex parte temporary restraining order on February 5. On February 7, 2026 Judge Cristina D. Silva denied Coinbase’s motion and dismissed the complaint without prejudice, holding that Younger abstention barred the relief sought and, in the alternative, that the Anti-Injunction Act did.

This is not a preemption ruling and should never be counted as one. The court said so directly: "I find it unnecessary to assess those factors on the merits because … the Court has no power to grant the relief Coinbase seeks." On the exception Coinbase pressed, the court wrote that "frustration is neither an exception to Younger nor a reason for this court to exercise its limited jurisdiction." The case is closed; nothing has been filed since.

Timeline

February 2026

Coinbase sues Nevada’s Attorney General and gaming regulators and moves for an emergency TRO; the state court issues an ex parte restraining order the next day.

February 2026

Judge Silva denies the motion and dismisses the complaint without prejudice on Younger abstention, with the Anti-Injunction Act as an alternative ground.

What's next: The federal case is closed. The dismissal was without prejudice, and the dispute continues in the Nevada state enforcement action that triggered the abstention.

Parties

Plaintiffs

  • Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc.

Defendants

  • Aaron D. Ford (Nevada Attorney General)
  • Mike Dreitzer, George Assad and Chandeni K. Sendall (Nevada Gaming Control Board)
  • Jennifer Togliatti, Rosa Solis-Rainey, Brian Krolicki, George Markantonis and Abbi Silver (Nevada Gaming Commission)
This page is informational, not legal advice. Nearly every entry in this tracker is a preliminary ruling under appeal. Always verify a platform's current, location-specific eligibility directly with the venue before relying on this page.