SEC lawyers argue Coinbase is overstepping by demanding emails from its chairman as the exchange battles ongoing.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked a New York court to reject Coinbase’s subpoena, which seeks to compel the agency to produce documents related to crypto assets.
The SEC described them as covering “essentially all documents that in any way relate to crypto assets.”
SEC Opposes Coinbase’s Subpoena Request
The motion filed on Monday represents the latest development in the legal battle between the SEC and Coinbase. The exchange is attempting to subpoena the agency and its employees, including Chair Gary Gensler, for communications and other records that could aid its defense.
The SEC has particularly objected to the request for Gensler’s personal communications, labeling the subpoena as a blatant impropriety.
In a letter to the court on June 28, the Commission argued that Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) should deny Coinbase’s request. Failla, perplexed by the company’s demand for Gensler’s personal communications, particularly those before his tenure as SEC Chairman, held a pre-trial conference by phone on July 11 to discuss the conflicting requests.
Failla remarked that she was surprised by the motion during the July 11 conference, and not in a good way. She found the arguments, as articulated in the July 3 response, to border on the fatuous and was not moved by any of them.
Following the conference, the Judge directed Coinbase to refine its approach, instructing its lawyers to file a motion to compel as a preliminary step in resolving the discovery dispute. Coinbase complied and submitted its motion on July 23, slightly narrowing the scope of its request but maintaining its fundamental stance.
Coinbase’s Ongoing Fight with SEC
Last year, the SEC filed civil charges against Coinbase, accusing the crypto exchange of operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency and with the unregistered sale of securities in connection with its staking products.
In April, the exchange submitted its first request for the production of documents to the SEC. Two months later, Coinbase indicated its intention to subpoena Gensler’s personal communications related to crypto from his entire tenure, including the four years before his appointment as SEC Chairman.
Additionally, Coinbase served a similar subpoena to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where Gensler taught a blockchain technology class before joining the SEC. Recently, the company informed the court that it would no longer seek records related to Gensler’s role outside the Commission.