A federal judge overseeing the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against Coinbase has suggested that the cryptocurrency exchange may not be allowed to access Chair Gary Gensler’s private communications prior to his leadership of the commission.
During a hearing on July 11 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Coinbase’s legal team argued that they should be allowed to review data on Gensler’s personal devices, as the SEC did not provide explicit assurances regarding his communications with market makers. The SEC’s legal team, however, requested that Judge Katherine Polk Failla dismiss the subpoena into Gensler’s personal communications, stating that he was not a fact witness or an expert witness on the law in the Coinbase case.
According to Inner City Press, Coinbase’s lawyers stated, “We are unable to obtain information from the SEC. We included the time period before because we attempted to engage with Mr. Gensler and the SEC, but they have refused to confirm whether he used his personal device to communicate about crypto.”
Judge Failla expressed that she did not necessarily agree with Coinbase’s arguments but agreed to consider them, highlighting her concerns about the burden of inquiry into Gensler’s statements before he became chair. She requested that both parties submit letters to the court by July 15.
The subpoena for the SEC chair’s personal devices was part of the discovery process in the commission’s enforcement case against Coinbase, which was filed in June 2023. The regulator has alleged that Coinbase has operated as an unregistered securities broker since 2019, violating US securities laws.
Coinbase initially requested access to Gensler’s communications from his personal devices in April, claiming that he had shared his views and communicated with market participants in his personal capacity. The discovery request focused on communications and documents related to Gensler’s opinions on crypto starting in 2017.