Coinbase Criticizes SEC’s Lack of Response

Coinbase has criticized the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for failing to respond to queries posed by the U.S. Court of Appeals in its ongoing legal battle with the regulator.

In a letter filed with the Court on June 17, attorneys for the cryptocurrency exchange criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission for continuing to provide “no straight answers” in response to Coinbase’s rulemaking petition, which requests that the SEC establish a regulatory framework for digital assets.

“When ordered by this Court to address the glaring inconsistency between its litigating position and its actions and statements elsewhere, the SEC still provides no direct answers and instead repeats its talking points,” Coinbase wrote.

The letter vesponded to the SEC’s request for an additional 120 days to respond to Coinbase’s rulemaking petition, made on June 13.

Coinbase asserted that the SEC is unwilling to update the court on its decision, stating that it “resists even being ordered to update the court on its progress.”

The firm asserted that the SEC’s silence, lengthy delays, and enforcement actions continue to burden the crypto industry and that SEC chairman Gary Gensler “continues to charge well down the path of irreparably damaging a U.S. public company and an entire industry.”

Paul Grewal, the chief legal officer of Coinbase, tweeted on June 17 that it is “unusual for the government to defy a direct question from a federal court.”

Given that the SEC denied Coinbase’s petition, Grewal said he hopes the Supreme Judicial Court will issue a writ of mandamus — a judicial order to a government official requiring them to perform their duties under the law.

Coinbase also requests that the court establish a deadline of no more than 60 days beginning on June 13 — the date of the SEC’s request.

In a separate case, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase on June 6, alleging the trading platform violated various securities laws, most notably by allegedly offering unregistered securities and cryptocurrencies.