Overview
- Coinbase said it reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that was reported Wednesday under which the SEC will pay $150,000 and change how it stores and preserves staff communications.
- The company says the SEC disclosed that an automated process erased almost a year of messages from senior officials, including texts involving former Chair Gary Gensler, which prompted Coinbase's FOIA litigation.
- The FOIA suits began in 2024 when Coinbase sued the SEC and the FDIC seeking internal records it said would show coordinated pressure on crypto firms, and prior litigation with the FDIC produced documents about 2022 private instructions to banks.
- Coinbase's chief legal officer Paul Grewal framed the legal push as a bid for transparency and said the company will keep using litigation when it sees record-keeping or accountability problems; Grewal will move to an advisory role at month end.
- The settlements have triggered congressional scrutiny and could change how regulators handle communications, with possible effects on future enforcement, public trust in oversight, and ongoing policy talks over crypto rules and stablecoins.