Coinbase has filed a motion to compel the United States securities regulator to produce Gary Gensler’s private emails amid its ongoing legal battle with the regulator.
It comes after Coinbase sent a letter to Judge Katherine Polk Failla last week, noting it intends to narrow the scope of its document request from the regulator after receiving pushback.
Coinbase initially sought a copy of private communications from Gensler (before and during his time as SEC Chair) in April but has since received pushback from both the SEC and Judge Failla.
The new July 23 motion now asks for Gensler’s private communications during his time at the SEC as Chair from 2021, among other documents.
“Following a preliminary conference with the Court, Coinbase withdrew its requests concerning pre-Chair communications,” the motion stated.
“It now moves to compel only documents and communications responsive to Subpoena Request No. 23” and several SEC requests. Subpoena request 23 refers to documents concerning Gensler’s speeches on the regulatory status of digital assets and exchanges.
It has argued that the documents could play an important part in its defense against allegations that it allowed the illegal trading of unregistered securities on its platform.
“Documents related to these communications bear directly on the claims the SEC now asserts and on Coinbase’s fair notice defense,” said Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal in a post on X on July 24.
“We’re entitled to know all the cards the other side has,” he told Law360 before adding, “We’re not trying to play Texas Hold’ Em with all the cards face down.”
According to the motion, the SEC has refused to search for documents outside of its Enforcement Division’s investigative files, claiming lack of relevance and undue burden.
“The SEC justifies this conduct on the grounds of relevance, burden, and privilege. None holds water,” it added.
Related: Coinbase narrows subpoena, wants Gensler’s emails during time as SEC chair
The motion also seeks information on conversations SEC staff have had with other market participants.
Coinbase is also seeking documents related to its 2021 public offering, which involved a six-month SEC review and documents concerning Gensler’s public statements regarding crypto regulation. The motion read:
“At no point did the SEC conclude that Coinbase was an unregistered exchange, broker, or clearing agency, nor did it identify any tokens listed on Coinbase’s platform — several of which are named tokens in this matter — that it believed were securities.”
The SEC sued Coinbase in June 2023, accusing the company of violating federal securities laws by listing 13 tokens it claims are securities and that Coinbase has operated as an “unregistered securities broker” since 2019.
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