According to a report by Sarah Wynn for The Block, a U.S. District Judge has granted portions of Coinbase’s motion to compel the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide key documents in their ongoing lawsuit, though the judge denied the exchange’s request to subpoena SEC Chair Gary Gensler. This ruling is a significant step in the discovery process as the case between Coinbase and the SEC continues.
The dispute began when the SEC sued Coinbase for operating as an unregistered securities exchange in 2023. Coinbase responded by filing a motion seeking documents related to the tokens mentioned in the SEC’s complaint, records on the SEC’s internal discussions about allowing Coinbase to go public in April 2021, and statements made by Gensler during his tenure at the agency.
On 5 September 2024, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled to grant part of Coinbase’s request while denying others. For example, the SEC is required to search for more documents than it initially offered, though not as many as Coinbase had asked for. The search will include internal memorandums about whether certain tokens met the Howey Test, a key legal standard for defining securities.
Coinbase had previously subpoenaed Gensler for documents, but the request was dropped following assurances from the SEC that Gensler hadn’t used personal channels for SEC business. Judge Failla also excluded current and former SEC commissioners from the required document search.
Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, saying the decision will help Coinbase access key documents for its defense. He noted that despite some limitations, the court granted much of what Coinbase had been seeking.
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