Coinbase is in a legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the exchange’s effort to subpoena communications from SEC Chair Gary Gensler. The battle began when the SEC filed charges against Coinbase for operating as an unregistered securities exchange and selling unregistered securities related to its staking products. The SEC argues that many cryptocurrencies on Coinbase’s platform should be treated as securities, whereas Coinbase claims they are commodities.
In an attempt to challenge the SEC’s regulatory approach, Coinbase requested documents regarding Gensler’s communications, but the SEC opposed this, calling the requests too broad. Although Coinbase later limited its request to documents from Gensler’s tenure at the SEC, the regulator maintained its stance against the subpoena. A U.S. District Judge denied Coinbase’s request for Gensler’s personal emails, focusing instead on regulatory matters. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for the classification and regulation of digital assets in the U.S.
