One of the last legal battles stemming from Gary Gensler’s time at the SEC has now been resolved, according to Coinbase’s chief legal officer.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission spent much of Gary Gensler’s tenure pursuing enforcement actions against the cryptocurrency industry, particularly after the collapse of FTX.
While the current administration has since resolved many of those cases, the regulator has now settled a separate lawsuit brought by Coinbase, resulting in changes to the agency’s recordkeeping practices.
From Enforcement Target to Legal Challenger
The legal conflict between Coinbase and the SEC began in 2023 when the regulator sued the largest US based cryptocurrency exchange. The following year, the roles shifted after Coinbase, through its research arm History Associates, filed a lawsuit against the SEC for denying Freedom of Information Act requests seeking internal communications about the agency’s crypto regulatory strategy.
Coinbase argued that the requested records could reveal how the SEC developed its enforcement approach toward digital asset companies during the Biden administration, including the legal reasoning behind several high profile lawsuits against firms such as Binance, Ripple, and others.
The SEC has now agreed to settle the case by paying $150,000 in attorney fees, releasing two documents that had previously been withheld, and reviewing its policies for preserving text messages and other forms of electronic communication.
Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal announced the settlement in an opinion piece, describing it as a meaningful step forward for government transparency. At the time of writing, however, the SEC has not issued an official public statement confirming the agreement.
Why the Settlement Is Significant
During Gensler’s leadership, the SEC imposed billions of dollars in penalties on banks and financial institutions for failing to retain employee communications conducted through text messages and other unofficial channels. Coinbase argued that the regulator should be held to the same standards it required of the private sector.
The dispute intensified after the SEC acknowledged that certain text messages involving Gensler and other senior officials had been automatically deleted, leaving them unavailable in response to the Freedom of Information Act requests.
Although the settlement does not include an admission of wrongdoing by the SEC, it requires the agency to reassess its record retention procedures. The move is viewed as particularly significant given the regulator’s long standing emphasis on preserving official communications.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic
