In a turn of events, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested a time extension from the court to complete fact discovery requirements for its lawsuit against Coinbase. The extension aims to postpone the deadline by four months, setting a new date after the US elections.
SEC requests extension of fact-finding deadline
On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission the requested The company sought an extension of time to complete the fact discovery process in its case against Coinbase Inc. and Coinbase Global Inc. In a letter to Judge Katherine Polk Failla, the US regulator also sought an extension to amend a previously filed civil case management plan and scheduling order.
The document states that the defendants have agreed to the extension, and added that no party has requested an extension of time to complete fact discovery in the SEC vs. Coinbase lawsuit.
US SEC requests deadline extension. Source: Court Listener
The SEC said it had put extensive effort into the discovery process, producing hundreds of thousands of documents to meet the requirements. However, it argued that the court also ordered the US regulator to review additional documents “in deciding on Defendants’ motion to compel.”
This order resulted in the need to review several new documents following an agreement with Coinbase on the terms of “discovery and review of potentially responsive material.” As a result, the SEC believes that the four-month deadline extension will provide the necessary time to comply with the said order.
Pursuant to that agreement, the SEC is reviewing at least 133,582 unique documents. The requested extension will give the SEC the time necessary to comply with the court’s order. See also ECF No. 161 (recognizing the potential need to expand fact finding).
This extension will extend the deadline from October 18, 2024 to February 18, 2025, affecting subsequent deadlines in the case. Consequently, the letter seeks to extend the affected deadlines by four months respectively.
Coinbase continues battle against US regulators
In addition, Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal recently updated the community about a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). In an X post, Grewal said that progress has been made in getting a “cease and desist letter” sent to financial institutions “suggesting” they debank the crypto firms.
Coinbase’s CLO also revealed that the court had ordered the release of the “Vaughn Index,” which is “a kind of FOIA privilege log.” According to Grewal, this is a big step for the crypto community: “Inch-by-inch, we will reach the truth of Chokepoint 2.0,” he said.
Coinbase CLO gives update on FOIA suit agaisnt the FDIC. Source: Paul Grewal on X
Lawyer James Murphy, known as the Metallawman, suggested Putting more pressure on regulators is good news because it will “make it harder for the Administration to maintain the position that there is no such thing as #OperationChokepoint 2.0.”
Many members of the community agreed with this sentiment, and expressed their frustration with US regulators. Murphy also criticized the US Congress for “not doing its job,” and ultimately questioned “why a public company has to do the work of congressional oversight.”
COIN is trading at $171.82 in the weekly chart. Source: COIN on TradingView
Featured image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
