Can Coinbase really get away with facilitating IEOs?

There have been rumors flying around for weeks that Coinbase and Poloniex were both considering launching their own Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) platform. I frankly thought it was crazy. Who in their right mind would even consider facilitating token launches for U.S. customers after the SEC has pretty clearly indicated that the majority of ICOs (mainly the ones without a functioning network) were security offerings at the time of sale?

Well, it turns out it might have not been so crazy after all. CoinDesk reported that Coinbase may soon launch an IEO platform with details coming out "in the next few months." Kayvon Pirestani, Coinbase’s head of institutional sales in Asia, said today: “In a nutshell, Coinbase is carefully exploring not only the IEO space but also STOs. But I can’t make any formal announcements right now.”