Coinbase files motion to compel SEC to release documents related to Gensler

Coinbase has urged a New York court to order the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to produce documents related to Gary Gensler’s internal discussions.

In a new court filing, Coinbase lawyers are seeking access to documents and communications from Gensler’s tenure as the SEC Chair.

The July 23 motion asks for Gensler’s private communications during his time as SEC Chair from 2021 onward.

Coinbase’s defence had previously requested Gensler’s emails from before and during his time as SEC Chair. However, after pushback from the SEC and Judge Katherine Polk Failla, Coinbase narrowed its request.

The motion highlights Subpoena Request No. 23, which includes documents related to Gensler’s speeches on digital asset regulation. According to Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, these documents “bear directly on the claims the SEC now asserts.”

The motion adds that the SEC has refused to search for documents outside its Enforcement Division’s investigative files, citing relevance and undue burden. It also refused to conduct custodian email searches and establish a produce-or-log protocol for any such 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 July 23 motion

Coinbase’s motion counters that the SEC’s justifications do not hold water. 

Coinbase was initially sued by the SEC in 2023. The commission said the exchange violated securities laws by listing 13 tokens it claims are securities. The SEC also labelled Coinbase as an “unregistered securities broker” in 2019.

As such, the recent filing also requested information related to its 2021 public offering, which involved a six-month SEC review. The crypto exchange claims that the SEC did not conclude that Coinbase was an unregistered exchange, broker, or clearing agency during this review period.

On top of that, tokens offered by Coinbase at the time were also not identified as securities offerings.

Further, the motion also seeks information on conversations between SEC staff and other market participants.

Coinbase has continued to maintain that the tokens listed on its platform do not qualify as securities and should not be subject to SEC regulations.

Previously, the exchange has also accused the SEC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation of obstructing their requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act.