The legal battle between Coinbase and the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken another twist with Coinbase requesting the court to intervene. The exchange led by Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, argues that the SEC’s refusal to release essential documents is unfair and obstructing the case.
In its defense, Coinbase says that the SEC has not provided it with necessary records, such as emails from Gary Gensler, the SEC chair, and other relevant communications. It seems the exchange considers these documents pivotal to deciphering the SEC’s application of securities laws to digital assets.
Coinbase also alleges that the SEC is inconsistent in its regulation process and did not attempt to seek for particular custodians who could have been in possession of valuable information.
In response, the SEC notes that Coinbase’s discovery requests are overbroad and unrelated to the case at hand. The agency argues that the documents sought do not meet the relevancy standards and labels Coinbase’s request as a fishing expedition.
While the SEC has a point that some of the documents requested do not meet the relevancy standards, it is highly questionable that it will not review Gensler’s personal emails, despite Coinbase’s claims that these could be very useful in the case.
Furthermore, Coinbase has also objected to a recent proposal by the SEC to alter the meaning of “exchange” to encompass decentralized exchange platforms (DEX). Grewal was not happy with this proposal stating that it has no sufficient assessment and analysis that could affect the crypto market.
Also Read: Coinbase Slams CFTC’s Proposed Ban on Prediction Markets
