SEC Opposes Coinbase’s Document Requests in Legal Battle

SEC Resists in Coinbase Lawsuit

The SEC stated that the requests amounted to a “fishing expedition with little marginal benefit” and would impose a “tremendous burden” on the Commission. The filing noted, “Coinbase does not meet the relevance and proportionality requirements of Rule 26(b).” The Commission argued that a meeting with FTX and a provided “slide presentation” example were insufficient to justify broad document requests.

Additionally, Coinbase requested various documents to support its “fair notice” defense. This requires that cryptocurrency regulations provide adequate notice of what conduct is required or prohibited. The SEC countered that such a defense did not justify extensive discovery requests.

The SEC highlighted its extensive efforts in the Coinbase-SEC case so far. The Commission stated it had reviewed or produced approximately 357,000 documents related to the matter. The SEC’s filing noted, “Reviewing and logging 3 million more documents cannot justify the fishing expedition burden.” It also mentioned that additional documents were likely privileged and unrelated to the Coinbase-SEC case.

SEC Opposes Coinbase’s “Gary Gensler” Request

The SEC also firmly rejected Coinbase’s request for a sample of Chairman Gensler’s personal emails. The Commission argued that Gensler’s views expressed in his speeches were his own and not made on behalf of the Commission. It clarified that these views were not made in a private setting.

The Commission stated, “The Chairman’s statement reflects the principle that one person cannot bind a five-member commission.” Furthermore, the SEC added that even if Gensler made a speech in his private life, it did not justify the intrusive search proposed by the cryptocurrency exchange. The SEC warned of the potential consequences of accepting the exchange’s requests.

The post first appeared on COINTURK NEWS: SEC Opposes Coinbase’s Document Requests in Legal Battle