A New York judge has granted parts of Coinbase’s motion to compel the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide documents related to its ongoing legal battle. However, the judge dismissed the exchange’s bid to subpoena SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
In a decision filed on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla approved and denied sections of Coinbase’s request, saying, “For the reasons stated on the record during the telephonic conference held on September 5, 2024, the Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Defendants’ motion to compel.”
The legal dispute stems from an SEC lawsuit filed last year, accusing Coinbase of operating without proper registration.
Coinbase sought various documents from the SEC, including those related to the tokens involved in the SEC’s complaint, the agency’s deliberations regarding Coinbase’s public listing in April 2021, and statements made by Gensler. The court’s ruling restricts some of these requests, limiting them to internal memos and documents reflecting the SEC’s application of the Howey Test—used to determine whether an asset qualifies as a security.
Judge Failla also decided the SEC must search for more than the five SEC staff members it initially proposed, though not all Coinbase had requested. Current and former commissioners were excluded from this search list. Additionally, the SEC is not required to turn over internal documents unless they include external attachments.
SEC Chair subpoena blocked
Coinbase had previously served Gensler with a subpoena to produce documents, including his private emails. The court rejected this, accepting the SEC’s representation that Gensler had not used personal communication channels for SEC business, according to Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal. As a result, Coinbase withdrew its request for Gensler’s personal communications.
Judge Failla’s ruling also grants the SEC’s motion to permanently seal some redacted documents.
Despite some limits on their document requests, Coinbase sees the decision as a win. Grewal added that the judge’s ruling requires the SEC to produce important documents central to Coinbase’s defense, including internal memos on the Howey Test analysis.
Grewal commented, “While it may be the case that we withdrew one particular request, and the judge recognized certain reasonable limits, this was an order granting the heart of the discovery that we have been seeking for months.”
Coinbase and the SEC remain locked in a discovery phase as the lawsuit progresses.
