Coinbase Requests Court to Order SEC to Produce Key Documents

• Coinbase has asked a New York Court to order the SEC to produce key documents related to its complaint against Coinbase.
• Coinbase claims the SEC is refusing to search for relevant documents outside of a select group of Enforcement Division files.
• The case, which began with the SEC suing Coinbase in 2023, is now in the discovery phase.

The legal battle between American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now taking another turn. 

Recently, Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase, Paul Grewal announced on X that the crypto exchange has asked the New York Court to order SEC  to produce important documents in discovery, including documents related to the tokens the SEC included in its complaint against Coinbase, the SEC’s consideration of Coinbase’s public offering, and statements Chair Gensler has made in his personal and professional capacity during his SEC tenure. 

“Documents related to these communications bear directly on the SEC’s claims and on Coinbase’s fair notice defense,” Coinbase said.

Coinbase mentioned in its motion that several years ago, SEC commissioners and staff met with stakeholders in the cryptocurrency market, including Coinbase. They also issued public statements and guidance on cryptocurrency regulation prior to the SEC's lawsuit against Coinbase.

Taking the matter a little ahead, the crypto exchange further stated that:

“The SEC will not search for these relevant documents. It refuses to search any documents outside of a self-selected group of Enforcement Division investigatory files. And it refuses a produce-or-log protocol for any custodian email searches. That extends to Chair Gensler’s SEC emails, and even to asking Chair Gensler whether he used his personal email for communications about his public statements on these subjects that he said were made in his personal capacity.”

Since last year, the SEC has been in a legal battle with Coinbase after suing the platform for operating without proper registration. Coinbase attempted to dismiss the lawsuit, but U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of New York denied the motion. The case is currently in the discovery phase.

Last month, Coinbase sued the SEC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) after its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests were denied.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah