Coinbase Pushes Court to Probe Deleted SEC Messages

Coinbase demands court action after SEC deletes key texts, raising concerns over transparency, fairness, and digital communication standards in regulation.

Coinbase is taking strong legal action against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On Thursday, the crypto exchange filed a motion in federal court. It asked for a hearing to investigate the deletion of important messages by the SEC. Specifically, these messages include SEC former chair Gary Gensler and other top officials.

SEC Deleted a Year of Texts, Coinbase Calls for Court Action

According to a report by the SEC’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) the agency deleted almost a year’s worth of text messages. These deletions occurred from October 2022 to September 2023. The report explained the loss of data as being caused by “avoidable” errors.

As a result, Coinbase is now asking for answers. The company wants to know why the SEC didn’t do a complete search of its records. This includes text messages and other communications from top officials. Coinbase had already filed multiple Freedom of information (FOIA) requests in 2023 and 2024. However, the SEC did not make these records available.

Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, discussed the issue on X (formerly Twitter). He stated, “The Gensler SEC destroyed documents which they were required to preserve and produce.” He added the company now has proof from the SEC’s own inspector general.

In its court filing, Coinbase is asking that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia act quickly. First it wants the court to order expedited discovery. This means quickening up the process of collecting evidence. Then, Coinbase is requesting sanctions against the SEC. Finally, it is calling for the immediate production of all the missing messages.

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To support its case Coinbase hired a private research firm called History Associates. This firm is helping the company be able to track down the missing communications. Importantly, Coinbase believes these messages might contain key pieces of information about how the SEC treated regulation of Ethereum, and other assets, during Gensler’s tenure as chair.

Lost SEC Messages Raise Transparency Concerns

Meanwhile, the report of the Inspector General showed more troubling facts. The SEC has a policy of wiping mobile devices that have not been used for 45 days. This policy resulted in a lot of text messages being lost. Some of these messages might have had important regulatory discussions.

In addition, Coinbase highlighted the irony of the situation. The SEC has fined other companies billions of dollars for not maintaining proper records. Yet, it now seems, the agency failed to abide by its own rules.

This case is no mere records dispute. It raises deeper questions of transparency and fairness. Coinbase believes that regulators should be held to the same standards as businesses that they regulate.

In conclusion, Coinbase’s legal action has the potential to have major implications. If the court agrees, the SEC may be in serious trouble. At the same time, the crypto industry is closely monitoring. This case could alter the way that U.S. regulators must deal with digital communications in the future.

For now, Coinbase continues to push for accountability — and the messages that might tell us what really happened behind closed doors at the SEC.