Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has scaled back its subpoena to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, saying it will only seek information related to his time leading the commission, following concerns from a New York judge.
Coinbase served Gensler with a subpoena in June. The chairman asked the exchange to produce documents regarding certain communications that the exchange said were related to its ongoing case with the SEC. The documents include statements about cryptocurrencies from 2017 to the present, covering a period of four years before Gensler was sworn in in 2021.
“With respect to the subpoena against Mr. Gensler, Coinbase has decided to seek documents from Mr. Gensler only during his term as SEC Chairman, and not before that,” Coinbase’s attorneys said in a filing Monday.
The SEC objects to the subpoena and “Inappropriate invasion of a public official’s privacy.”
At a court hearing last week, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in New York ruled on July 3 that letter Coinbase filed the lawsuit, claiming Gensler’s personal cryptocurrency-related emails were a “proper source of redemption.”
“I was somewhat surprised by the response of July 3 and it was not well-meaning,” Judge Failla said in a pretrial motion. meeting July 11. Judge Fayla said he had specific concerns, including Coinbase’s claims about Gensler’s private communications.
Ultimately, Judge Faila said she was “basically unimpressed by any of the arguments.” She ultimately decided that Coinbase would be best served by filing a motion to compel, but she seemed unconvinced by the exchange’s subpoena push.
Coinbase said in a letter setting out the timeline for filing a motion to compel compliance that it would file its disclosure statement on July 23.
The SEC and Coinbase have been embroiled in litigation since last year, when Coinbase sued the agency for operating its platform without registration. Coinbase moved to dismiss the lawsuit, but End That’s what Judge Failla said in March. The judge said the SEC had “sufficiently alleged” that Coinbase operated as an exchange, broker, and clearinghouse and engaged in unregistered securities sales through its staking program. But she dismissed claims related to Coinbase’s wallet application.
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