- Coinbase said Gensler’s emails and other documents it asked for are critical to its case
- Coinbase had notified Judge Katherine Polk Failla of its intention to narrow the scope of its document request
- SEC alleged that Coinbase had permitted unlawful trading of unregistered securities on its platform
Crypto exchange, Coinbase, has filed a motion asking a New York court to compel the Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, to release his private emails. The emails will aid Coinbase in its suit against the regulator.
This came days after the exchange notified Judge Katherine Polk Failla of its intention to narrow its document request via a letter. Coinbase first requested a copy of Gensler's private correspondence (prior to and during his tenure as SEC Chair) in April, but the SEC and Judge Failla have since rebuffed the request.
The new motion, which was filed on July 23, 2024, seeks to compel Gensler to release its private communications as chair of the SEC from the beginning of his term in 2021 to date. It also asks him to release other documents that Coinbase would find necessary in its suit.
“Following a preliminary conference with the Court, Coinbase withdrew its requests concerning pre-Chair communications,” stated the motion. “It now moves to compel only documents and communications responsive to Subpoena Request No. 23.”
Documents pertaining to Gensler's talks on the legal status of digital assets and exchanges are referenced in Subpoena Request 23. The motion claims that the records may be crucial to defending itself against claims that it permitted the unlawful trading of unregistered securities on its platform.
Part of the motion. Source: ctfassets
“The SEC will not search for these relevant documents. It refuses to search any documents outside of a self-selected group of Enforcement Division investigatory files. And it refuses a produce-or-log protocol for any custodian email searches. That extends to Chair Gensler’s SEC emails and even to asking Chair Gensler whether he used his personal email for communications about his public statements on these subjects that he said were made in his personal capacity,” Coinbase said.
Paul Grewal is Coinbase’s legal officer. In an X post, he described the documents Coibase asked for as “important” to its case.
“Today we are asking the Court to order SEC to produce important documents in discovery, including documents related to the tokens the SEC included in its complaint against Coinbase, the SEC’s consideration of our public offering, and statements Chair Gensler has made in his personal and professional capacity during his SEC tenure,” Grewal posted. “Documents related to these communications bear directly on the claims the SEC now asserts and on Coinbase’s fair notice defense.”
In an interview, per The Block, Grewal further explained that “We have a right to defend ourselves, and if they are talking to these token issuers about the law, the lawful status of their projects or the scope or reach of the federal securities laws as it applies to their blockchain networks — we're entitled to it, and that's what we're looking for.”
After exiting Nigeria, OKX delists several popular spot trading pairs
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that popular crypto exchange OKX has announced the delisting of several popular spot trading pairs. This came just days after the exchange's exit from Africa’s largest crypto market, Nigeria.
The delisting will be gradual in four batches from July 25 to August 2. In a statement on its website, the exchange advised users to cancel orders pertaining to the affected trading pairs before the delisting date. The system will automatically cancel these orders if the users fail to cancel the orders themselves, the exchange warned.
