Paul Grewal, the chief legal officer at Coinbase, took to X to highlight the firm’s recent victory over the United States regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In his Monday post, the lawyer stated that Coinbase won its petition for a “writ of mandamus” at the Third Circuit.
The Latest Coinbase Victory
By all means, this new development rebukes the Gary Gensler-led agency for rejecting the firm’s initial rulemaking petition.
According to the Court, “SEC’s order was conclusory and insufficiently reasoned, thus arbitrary and capricious.”
Therefore, the court decided it was best to grant Coinbase’s petition in part. Coinbase petitioned the SEC to publicize rules that spell out how and when federal securities law applies to cryptocurrencies.
The exchange made such a move because it strongly opines that the existing securities law does not allow certain unique attributes of digital assets.
It is, therefore, difficult for crypto firms to comply with the unclear rules.
In Grewal’s opinion, Coinbase is pleased with the court’s careful consideration and decision at the latest hearing.
He pointed out the part played by Juliana Bibas, the 55-year-old judge who presided over the case. Coinbase CLO said speaking forcefully about the looming constitutional concerns was instrumental to its recent win in court.
Coinbase and Institutional Fight
Amongst the crypto-related companies and exchanges in the United States, Coinbase has consistently insisted on clarity for digital asset regulation.
Grewal urged the SEC to act faster in introducing crypto regulation into the industry. This came after a series of enforcement actions against major players by the regulator.
Some affected digital asset service providers are Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken. These exchanges were accused of breaking securities laws through their token listing services.
The regulator says these platforms exposed investors to severe risks instead of shielding them.
Meanwhile, Coinbase’s fight with the SEC involved requesting information through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
Moreover, the exchange believed that the SEC intentionally denied its requests. Citing FOIA Exemption 7(A), the regulator withheld documents tied to active law enforcement cases.
SEC had delayed the release of the requested documents by proposing a new three-year review.
Concerning this stance, Coinbase filed a motion in a Washington, D.C. court in October, asking for partial summary judgment to obtain the internal SEC documents. In the long run, the exchange won the court’s order to release the documents.
Will the Incoming Trump Administration Change Everything?
The crypto industry has been optimistic for the last two months, especially with pro-crypto politician Donald Trump winning the election.
In the past, Trump was one of those who criticized the crypto ecosystem. However, he is now in the camp that is speaking against Gensler. With his new position, the ecosystem expects that there will be policy changes that will favor crypto.
He mentioned plans to create a presidential advisory council on cryptocurrency during his campaign.
This body of industry-friendly leaders would weigh in on this new vertical’s regulatory weight. Trump has also nominated Paul Atkins, former SEC Commissioner and current CEO of Patomak Global Partners, to replace Gary Gensler.
There is hope that when Gensler leaves, Trump’s administration will encourage the SEC to drop ongoing suits against major crypto firms.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2025/01/14/coinbase-scores-another-win-against-us-sec-in-rulemaking-suit/