Coinbase sues SEC and FDIC for crypto regulatory clarity

Coinbase has initiated legal action against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), as reported by FOX Business. The US crypto exchange demands access to documents detailing the regulators’ stance on crypto regulation.

The lawsuits, filed in a Washington, D.C., district court, aim to uncover what Coinbase describes as a coordinated effort by financial authorities to block crypto firms from the US banking system.

“For years, financial regulators – including the SEC, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve Board – have used every tool at their disposal to try to cripple the digital-asset industry,” stated a Coinbase spokeswoman to FOX Business.

The company’s legal move targets the refusal of the SEC and FDIC to provide information requested under the Freedom of Information Act, including details on SEC investigations and FDIC’s “pause letters” sent to banks asking for any crypto activities to be paused.

Moreover, Coinbase’s lawsuits accuse the SEC and FDIC of using similar grounds for denying Coinbase the information it’s seeking, such as whether the head figures at the agencies are using coordinated pressure tactics to “choke off” the $2 trillion digital assets industry from the lifeblood of the federal banking system, according to the report.

This legal challenge is part of Coinbase’s broader struggle for clarity on the application of securities laws to digital assets, amidst ongoing litigation in New York where the SEC accuses Coinbase of offering unregistered securities.