Coinbase Narrows Focus in Legal Battle, Seeks Only SEC Chair Gensler’s On-the-Job Communications

• Coinbase now seeks only SEC Chair Gensler’s on-the-job communications after Judge Failla’s reluctance to grant access to his earlier chats.
• The SEC sued Coinbase in June 2023, alleging the listing of 13 tokens as securities and unregistered broker activity since 2019.
• Coinbase’s opening brief for its motion to compel Gensler’s communications is due on July 23, with the SEC’s response due by August 5.

Coinbase is changing its legal approach in its ongoing battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The exchange is now focusing on gathering confidential messages from SEC Chair Gary Gensler, but only during his term of office.

At first, Coinbase’s legal team sought access to Gensler’s private messages before and after his tenure as chair of the SEC. They considered that these communications were critical for understanding how Gensler’s views on cryptocurrency regulation had evolved over time.

The change came after Judge Katherine Polk Failla refused to approve the earlier request. Judge Failla expressed concern about the huge challenge of investigating Gensler’s statements before assuming the Chair position.

Coinbase had initially requested access to Gensler’s communications from 2017, just before he started teaching a Blockchain and Money course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018.

Coinbase’s legal team continue to believe that Gensler’s private messages while serving as Chair are crucial to their case. They feel that these communications could provide valuable insights into Gensler’s changing opinion on bitcoin regulation.

The SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase in June 2023 where it accused Coinbase of breaking federal securities laws by listing 13 cryptocurrency that it contends are securities. The SEC also alleges Coinbase has been operating as a unregistered securities broker since 2019, nearly two years before its initial public offering in April 2021.

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Coinbase denies the allegations, arguing that the tokens traded on its platform do not count as securities and are therefore exempt from SEC regulation.

As the lawsuit advances, Coinbase’s opening brief for its motion to compel is due on July 23, and the SEC has until August 5 to respond. The outcome of this legal case might have major implications on cryptocurrency regulation. 

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