Coinbase asks the SEC to release data on the cost of investigations and lawsuits against crypto firms

What’s new? Coinbase, the leading US centralized crypto exchange (CEX), has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for information on how much it spent on litigation against firms in the digital asset industry between April 17, 2021, and January 20, 2025. According to Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal, the request was filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), under which the public can contact federal regulators to obtain internal records.

Source: X.com

What else is known? In addition, the exchange is interested in how many investigations and lawsuits were filed against crypto firms during the period in question, as well as how many employees and third-party contractors were involved.

“We know the previous SEC’s regulation-by-enforcement approach cost Americans innovation, global leadership, and jobs, but how much did it cost in taxpayer dollars?” wondered Grewal.

He noted that the exchange wants more information about “the previous SEC’s infamous” crypto asset and cybersecurity unit, which was part of the enforcement division.

This unit, created in 2017, was responsible for bringing cases against crypto firms for fraud or unregistered offerings of securities in the form of tokens. On February 20 of this year, it was replaced by the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU).

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Grewal concluded by noting that the exchange is serious about obtaining relevant information, although it may take some time.

Former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, known for his tough stance on cryptocurrencies, resigned on January 20, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration. During the campaign, the cryptocurrency-friendly Trump promised to fire Gensler on his first day in office.

Under Gensler, the SEC has also taken an aggressive stance on cryptocurrencies since 2021, launching over 100 enforcement proceedings. Now, cryptocurrency advocates have taken over leadership positions at the SEC. The regulator has launched an internal cryptocurrency working group to develop new rules for the industry and has already begun withdrawing lawsuits and closing investigations against crypto companies launched in previous years, including a lawsuit against Coinbase itself.

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It was filed in June 2023 for Coinbase’s failure to register as a broker, exchange, or clearing agency, and offering unregistered securities in the form of a number of crypto assets.

Following the change in leadership, the SEC also terminated lawsuits against US crypto exchanges Kraken and Gemini, NFT company Yuga Labs, crypto wallet MetaMask, broker Robinhood, and DeFi protocol UniSwap.

Notably, Coinbase has previously appealed to FOIA to obtain internal orders from regulators to disconnect crypto firms from the banking sector.

Earlier this year, it managed to obtain documents through the court, according to which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) urged banks to suspend or avoid any crypto services.