Coinbase sues the SEC and FDIC

Coinbase is taking legal action after the SEC and FDIC denied information requests filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The crypto exchange, through consultancy firm History Associates Inc, has sued the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in a U.S. District Court for unfairly rejecting FOIA solicitations. The complaint alleges that these agencies are obstructing crypto-related policy clarity and violating FOIA obligations, which typically allow public access to records held by U.S. watchdogs.

• Coinbase employed History Associates in 2023 to request documents related to the SEC’s stance on Ethereum and the classification of Ether (ETH).
• The firm also sought investigative information on cease-and-desist orders issued to Enigma MPC and Etherdelta founder Zachary Coburn.
• After an FDIC report last October directed financial institutions to halt all crypto-asset operations, Coinbase petitioned for copies of the letters.

Repeated requests to the SEC and FDIC for details were denied, prompting Coinbase to pursue court proceedings. According to Coinbase, both agencies, especially the SEC, have deliberately attempted to exclude cryptocurrency from the U.S. financial system. The SEC’s rationale for withholding documents from investigations that concluded in settlements years ago is tailor-made to frustrate the legitimate purposes for which Coinbase sought the Coburn and Enigma MPC documents in the first place—to understand the view of the law that underlies the SEC’s enforcement blitzkrieg against the digital asset industry,” reads an excerpt from the lawsuit.