US SEC settles FOIA lawsuit with Coinbase over lost messages, WSJ op-ed says

July 22 (Reuters) - Coinbase ‌has settled ​a ​Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over records ‌it sought from the agency, the cryptocurrency exchange's ⁠chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, said in a Wall ‌Street Journal op-ed on Wednesday.

Grewal ‌said the agency, which polices corporate record-keeping, had lost text messages between former Chair Gary Gensler ​and other officials after a process the SEC said "automatically wiped" certain data.

As part of the ⁠settlement, the SEC will pay $150,000 and fix its record-retention policies, he ​wrote.

SEC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Coinbase sued the SEC and ​the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. ‌in 2024, seeking documents it said would show a concerted effort by U.S. ⁠regulators to stamp out crypto companies.

The lawsuit sought additional communications from senior SEC officials, including Gensler.

Coinbase has scored ⁠major wins from the SEC under U.S. President Donald Trump, ​including the dismissal of a major lawsuit the regulator brought against the company under President Joe Biden.

It also championed a ‌stablecoin bill passed by the U.S. Congress.

Reuters has reported that the SEC is ‌preparing more industry-friendly policies, including one that would ⁠allow crypto companies to ‌offer blockchain-based stocks.

(Reporting ​by Hannah Lang in New York and Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim ‌Zahid)

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