Coinbase sues SEC and FDIC over Freedom of Information Act Requests
Coinbase filed two lawsuits against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) after failing to have Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests granted, the company announced on Thursday
Financial regulators have used multiple tools at their disposal to try to cripple the digital-asset industry. @SECGov has claimed sweeping authority, but refuses to provide any rules, let alone consistent or coherent ones. While @FDICgov pressured financial institutions to cut…
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) June 27, 2024
In 2023, Coinbase hired History Associates Incorporated, a consulting firm, to assist in obtaining documents from the SEC and FDIC. According to History Associates, the company is currently suing both organizations to force them to turn over the records after both requests were denied. In both cases, History Associates is the plaintiff, and Coinbase is listed as a related party.
The U.S.'s largest cryptocurrency exchange said it is suing both regulators in order to obtain access to internal records and shed light on what it describes as a "deliberate and concerted effort by the SEC, FDIC, and other financial regulators" to pressure banks to deny crypto firms access to the federal banking system, according to lawsuits filed on Thursday in a district court in Washington, D.C.
"A wide range of federal financial regulators, including the SEC, FDIC, and the Federal Reserve Board, have been trying to cripple the digital asset industry for nearly two years by using every regulatory tool at their disposal.
Coinbase claims that both the SEC and the FDIC denied it access to the information, even though it was legally entitled to it under the Freedom of Information Act, which enables the public to request access to non-public records from federal agencies.
In April 2023, Coinbase sued the SEC, attempting to force the agency to reply to its request for rulemaking for the cryptocurrency industry. For the past few years, the two have disagreed over the necessity of rulemaking.
The announcement comes after Ethereum giant Consensys sued the SEC last month over issues related to the agency's Ether investigations.
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