A New York judge has granted part of a motion requiring cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to turn over documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but has denied the exchange’s bid to subpoena Commission Chairman Gary Gensler.
In July, cryptocurrency exchanges Force to agree Gensler and the SEC are required to provide documents that Coinbase says are at the heart of its lawsuit with the agency. The judge approved and denied parts of that motion in an order filed Friday.
“For the reasons set forth in the record from the conference call held on September 5, 2024, the court grants defendants’ motion to compel in part and denies in part,” U.S. District Judge Catherine Polk-Pailla said in an order issued Thursday.
The SEC and Coinbase have been embroiled in a lawsuit since last year, when the agency accused Coinbase of operating its platform without registration. Coinbase later decided to dismiss the lawsuit, but U.S. District Judge Catherine Polk-Pailla in New York later ruled Stop the company’s attemptsThe lawsuit is currently under investigation.
Coinbase asked the court to compel it to produce certain documents related to the tokens included in the SEC’s complaint, documents related to the SEC’s consideration of Coinbase becoming a public company in April 2021, and statements Gensler made both personally and professionally while working for the SEC.
Judge limits scope of Coinbase subpoena
Coinbase previously served Gensler with a subpoena in June. The exchange asked the chairman to turn over documents regarding his personal emails that he said were related to his ongoing case with the SEC. The documents include statements about cryptocurrencies from 2017 to the present, covering four years before Gensler was sworn in in 2021. Since then, I lost weight Information is provided only relative to the time Gensler led the company, not prior information. The SEC is unlikely to be required to respond to the subpoena, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Coinbase withdrew its request for Gensler’s private communications, but Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, told The Block that the withdrawal was made “based on clear statements made directly to Judge Failla by SEC lawyers.”
“The SEC has stated, under penalty of perjury for all material purposes, that Gary Gensler did not use private communication channels to conduct SEC business,” Grewal said. So there is no reason to pursue it, Grewal added.
The documents related to whether the tokens meet the Howey test are narrowed down in the order, the sources said. Coinbase asked the SEC’s top executives and current and former SEC commissioners to “conduct preliminary searches on the non-enforcement filings and provide hit reports to address the SEC’s unsubstantiated burden claims.” The agency made the proposal to five SEC staff members.
Judge Faila said the SEC must find at least five, but not all, of the ones Coinbase requested. The judge also excluded current and former commissioners from the list, according to the source.
The SEC also does not require filing internal documents unless there are external attachments, the official said.
According to the order, Secretary File also obtained the SEC’s consent to “permanently retain” certain of the material.
Coinbase’s Grewal said Judge Failla’s order will yield key documents that could be used in the defense. Judge Failla has ordered “tremendous discovery of internal memos and other documents that reflect the SEC’s Howey analysis,” he said.
“Today, Judge File issued his ruling on our motion to compel the court to do so. @SECGov “To provide key information to help us defend our case,” Grewal said. mail On Thursday at X. “In short, the court ordered the SEC to produce important evidence. I will share the full transcript with you when I receive it so you can read it for yourself. I appreciate the court’s careful consideration in the meantime.”
Even though Coinbase withdrew one request, the exchange is still getting what it wanted, Grewal said.
“While we may have withdrawn certain requests and the judge may have recognized certain reasonable limits, this order acknowledges the core of the evidence that we have been pursuing for months,” Grewal said in an interview.
Update: More details to follow on September 6th at 5:40 PM UTC.
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