APPENDIX 1: SEQUENCER, TESTNET, AND BASENAMES INTERFACE TERMS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT
1. Applicability of Arbitration Agreement
Subject to the terms of this Sequencer, Testnet, and Basenames Interface Terms Arbitration Agreement (as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified and in effect from time to time, the “Arbitration Agreement”), you and Coinbase agree that any dispute, claim, or disagreement arising out of or relating in any way to your access to or use of Base, the Site, a Coinbase Sequencer, the Services, or the Base Terms (the “Base ToS”) and prior versions of the Base ToS, including claims and disputes that arose between us before the effective date of the Base ToS (each, a “Dispute”) will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that: (1) you and Coinbase may assert claims or seek relief in small claims court if such claims qualify and remain in small claims court; and (2) you and Coinbase must resolve in court any Dispute about infringement, misuse, or misappropriation of intellectual property rights (such as trademarks, trade dress, domain names, trade secrets, copyrights, and patents). For purposes of this Arbitration Agreement, “Dispute” will also include disputes that arose or involve facts occurring before the existence of this or any prior versions of the Base ToS as well as claims that may arise after the termination of the Base ToS. Any capitalized term used herein without definition shall have the meaning assigned thereto in the Base ToS.
2. Waiver of Jury Trial
YOU AND COINBASE HEREBY WAIVE ANY CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY RIGHTS TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A TRIAL IN FRONT OF A JUDGE OR A JURY. You and Coinbase are instead electing that all Disputes shall be resolved by arbitration under this Arbitration Agreement, except as specified in the section entitled “Applicability of Arbitration Agreement” above. There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is subject to very limited review.
3. Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief
YOU AND COINBASE AGREE THAT, EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED IN SECTION 8, EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT ON A CLASS, REPRESENTATIVE, OR COLLECTIVE BASIS, AND THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO HAVE ANY DISPUTE BE BROUGHT, HEARD, ADMINISTERED, RESOLVED, OR ARBITRATED ON A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, REPRESENTATIVE, OR MASS ACTION BASIS. ONLY INDIVIDUAL RELIEF IS AVAILABLE, AND DISPUTES OF MORE THAN ONE CUSTOMER OR USER CANNOT BE ARBITRATED OR CONSOLIDATED WITH THOSE OF ANY OTHER CUSTOMER OR USER. Subject to this Arbitration Agreement, the arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the party's individual claim. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to, nor shall it, affect the terms and conditions under Section 8 entitled “Batch Arbitration.” Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Arbitration Agreement, if a court decides by means of a final decision, not subject to any further appeal or recourse, that the limitations of this section, “Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief,” are invalid or unenforceable as to a particular claim or request for relief (such as a request for public injunctive relief), you and Coinbase agree that that particular claim or request for relief (and only that particular claim or request for relief) shall be severed from the arbitration and may be litigated in the state or federal courts located in the State of California. All other Disputes that are not severed shall be litigated in small claims court or arbitrated. This section does not prevent you or Coinbase from participating in a class-wide settlement of claims.
4. Rules and Forum
The Base ToS evidences a transaction involving interstate commerce; and notwithstanding any other provision herein with respect to the applicable substantive law, the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., will govern the interpretation and enforcement of this Arbitration Agreement and any arbitration proceedings. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), in accordance with the Consumer Arbitration Rules (the "AAA Rules") then in effect, except as modified by this Arbitration Agreement. The AAA Rules are currently available at https://www.adr.org/sites/default/files/Consumer%20Rules.pdf.
A party who wishes to initiate arbitration must provide the other party with a request for arbitration (the “Request”). If you initiate the arbitration, you must provide Coinbase a copy of your Request by email at [[email protected]] or through Coinbase’s registered agent for service of process. The Request must include: (1) the name, telephone number, mailing address, email address of the party seeking arbitration, and the username and wallet addresses (if any) associated with the applicable Account(s); (2) a statement of the legal claims being asserted and the factual bases of those claims; (3) a description of the remedy sought, including an accurate, good faith calculation of the amount in controversy in United States Dollars; (4) if you are the party making the Request, a statement certifying completion of the Formal Complaint Process as described in the Base ToS; and (5) evidence that the requesting party has paid any necessary filing fees in connection with such arbitration.
If the party requesting arbitration is represented by counsel, the Request shall also include counsel’s name, telephone number, mailing address, and email address. Such counsel must also sign the Request. By signing the Request, counsel certifies to the best of counsel’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances, that: (1) the Request is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of dispute resolution; (2) the claims, defenses and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law; and (3) the factual and damages contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery.
Unless you and Coinbase otherwise agree, or the Batch Arbitration process discussed in Section 8 is triggered, the arbitration will be conducted in the county where you reside. Subject to the AAA Rules, the arbitrator may direct a limited and reasonable exchange of information between the parties, consistent with the expedited nature of the arbitration. If the AAA is not available to arbitrate, the parties will select an alternative arbitral forum. Your responsibility to pay any AAA fees and costs will be solely as set forth in the applicable AAA Rules.
You and Coinbase agree that all materials and documents exchanged during the arbitration proceedings shall be kept confidential and shall not be shared with anyone except the parties’ attorneys, accountants, or business advisors, and then subject to the condition that they agree to keep all materials and documents exchanged during the arbitration proceedings confidential.
5. Arbitrator
The arbitrator will be either a retired judge or an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of California and will be selected by the parties from the AAA's roster of consumer dispute arbitrators. If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator within thirty-five (35) business days of delivery of the Request, then the AAA will appoint the arbitrator in accordance with the AAA Rules, provided that if the Batch Arbitration process under Section 8 is triggered, the AAA will appoint the arbitrator for each batch.
6. Authority of Arbitrator
The arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to resolve any Dispute, including, without limitation, disputes arising out of or related to the interpretation or application of the Arbitration Agreement, including the enforceability, revocability, scope, or validity of the Arbitration Agreement or any portion of the Arbitration Agreement, except for the following: (1) all Disputes arising out of or relating to the section entitled “Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief,” including any claim that all or part of the section entitled “Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief” is unenforceable, illegal, void or voidable, or that such Section entitled “Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief” has been breached, shall be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; (2) except as expressly contemplated in the section entitled “Batch Arbitration,” all Disputes about the payment of arbitration fees shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; (3) all Disputes about whether either party has satisfied any condition precedent to arbitration shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; (4) all Disputes about which version of the Arbitration Agreement applies shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; and (5) all Disputes about whether a Dispute is carved out from arbitration in the Section above entitled “Applicability of Arbitration Agreement” shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator. The arbitration proceeding will not be consolidated with any other matters or joined with any other cases or parties, except as expressly provided in the section entitled “Batch Arbitration.” The arbitrator shall have the authority to grant motions dispositive of all or part of any Dispute. The arbitrator shall issue a written award and statement of decision describing the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based, including the calculation of any damages awarded. The award of the arbitrator is final and binding upon you and us. This means that, among other things, you and we agree that an arbitral award shall have no preclusive effect in any other proceeding involving other parties. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction. In any award of damages, the arbitrator shall abide by the “Limitation of Liability” section of the Terms.
7. Attorneys’ Fees and Costs
The parties shall bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs in arbitration unless the arbitrator finds that either the substance of the Dispute or the relief sought in the Request was frivolous or was brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)). If you or Coinbase need to invoke the authority of a court of competent jurisdiction to compel arbitration, then the party that obtains an order compelling arbitration in such action shall have the right to collect from the other party its reasonable costs, necessary disbursements, and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred in securing an order compelling arbitration. The prevailing party in any court action relating to whether either party has satisfied any condition precedent to arbitration, including the Formal Complaint Process, is entitled to recover their reasonable costs, necessary disbursements, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
8. Batch Arbitration
To increase the efficiency of administration and resolution of arbitrations, you and Coinbase agree that in the event that there are one hundred (100) or more individual Requests of a substantially similar nature filed against Coinbase by or with the assistance of the same law firm, group of law firms, or organizations, within a thirty (30) day period (or as soon as possible thereafter), the AAA shall (1) administer the arbitration demands in batches of 100 Requests per batch (plus, to the extent there are less than 100 Requests left over after the batching described above, a final batch consisting of the remaining Requests); (2) appoint one arbitrator for each batch; and (3) provide for the resolution of each batch as a single consolidated arbitration with one set of filing and administrative fees due per side per batch, one procedural calendar, one hearing (if any) in a place to be determined by the arbitrator, and one final award (“Batch Arbitration”).
All parties agree that Requests are of a “substantially similar nature” if they arise out of or relate to the same event or factual scenario and raise the same or similar legal issues and seek the same or similar relief. To the extent the parties disagree on the application of the Batch Arbitration process, the disagreeing party shall advise the AAA, and the AAA shall appoint a sole standing arbitrator to determine the applicability of the Batch Arbitration process (“Administrative Arbitrator”). In an effort to expedite resolution of any such dispute by the Administrative Arbitrator, the parties agree the Administrative Arbitrator may set forth such procedures as are necessary to resolve any disputes promptly. The Administrative Arbitrator’s fees shall be paid by Coinbase.
You and Coinbase agree to cooperate in good faith with the AAA to implement the Batch Arbitration process including the payment of single filing and administrative fees for batches of Requests, as well as any steps to minimize the time and costs of arbitration, which may include: (1) the appointment of a discovery special master to assist the arbitrator in the resolution of discovery disputes; and (2) the adoption of an expedited calendar of the arbitration proceedings.
This Batch Arbitration provision shall in no way be interpreted as authorizing a class, collective and/or mass arbitration or action of any kind, or arbitration involving joint or consolidated claims under any circumstances, except as expressly set forth in this provision.
9. Modification
If we make any updates to the Arbitration Agreement, we will make the updated terms available to you by publishing them on the Site. Your continued use of the Site and/or Services, including the acceptance of products and services offered on the Site following the posting of changes to this Arbitration Agreement constitutes your acceptance of any such changes.
10. Severability
If any provision of this Arbitration Agreement shall be determined to be invalid or unenforceable under any rule, law, or regulation of any local, state, or federal government agency, such provision will be changed and interpreted to accomplish the objectives of the provision to the greatest extent possible under any applicable law and the validity or enforceability of any other provision of this Arbitration Agreement shall not be affected.