Regulation
Coinbase sues SEC, FDIC for documents related to investigation
Coinbase sues Security and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. to force regulators to hand over documents related to cryptocurrency investigations.
The cases, brought under the Freedom of Information Act, come amid efforts by Coinbase. Ongoing legal battle with the SECin which the regulator accused the crypto company of operating an unregistered securities exchange.
The lawsuits were filed by History Associates, a consultant hired by Coinbase to request the documents, in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
“Financial regulators have used numerous tools at their disposal to attempt to cripple the digital asset industry,” said Coinbase General Counsel, Paul Grewal, published Thursday on the social media site[The SEC] has claimed absolute authority, but refuses to provide rules, much less consistent rules. [Meanwhile, the FDIC] “They put pressure on financial institutions to isolate this industry from the banking system.”
Coinbase has “requested documents from the SEC on closed investigations to shed light on how [it] considers his new authority vast (and illegal),” Grewal added. “One of these investigations, recently closed, concerned [Ethereum]which the SEC publicly announced was not a security in 2018. And the other investigations have been closed for years.
The cryptocurrency company wants to know how the SEC began deciding which tokens would and would not be considered securities.
“We asked the FDIC about the letters it sent to financial institutions asking them to indefinitely “suspend” crypto-related activities, an action that the FDIC’s own Office of Inspector General criticized for creating a “risk that the FDIC could inadvertently limit financial institutions’ innovation and growth in the crypto space,” Grewal wrote.
Both agencies “obstructed” Coinbase’s requests, he added.
Coinbase notably accused the SEC of “regulate by implementing the law”. At least one SEC commissioner, Hester Peirce, has questioned the practiceAlso.
Coinbase wants the court to force the FDIC and SEC to produce the documents.
The SEC declined to comment on the lawsuits filed against Banking Dive. The FDIC did not return a request for comment.