Coinbase Pushes for Transparency on SEC’s Crypto Crackdown Costs

As regulatory dust settles following the dismissal of its enforcement case, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) is pushing for full disclosure from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its recent crypto crackdown. The largest U.S. crypto exchange has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request via its contractor, History Associates Inc., seeking detailed records of the SEC’s financial and operational resources spent on digital asset enforcement over the past four years.

Coinbase Seeks Clarity on SEC Crypto Crackdown Costs

Coinbase’s request aims to uncover:

• Total expenditures on investigations and enforcement actions against crypto businesses.
• A list of targeted companies over the last four years.
• The number of SEC employees and contractors dedicated to these cases.
• Financial details related to the previous leadership’s crypto enforcement unit.

The SEC has recently undergone a major shift under the administration of President Donald Trump, who appointed Commissioner Mark Uyeda as acting chairman. Uyeda has taken swift action to reverse the agency’s stance on crypto regulation, replacing key officials, shutting down investigations, and dismissing high-profile cases, including the one against Coinbase.

Coinbase’s Stand on Transparency and Industry Impact

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal emphasized the necessity of this FOIA request, asserting that the public has a right to understand how taxpayer money was spent in what he referred to as the SEC’s failed enforcement campaign.

“We’re asking the SEC to produce this information voluntarily and subject to their FOIA obligations, without making Coinbase or anybody else have to go to court to get what we think the American people deserve to know,” Grewal told CoinDesk.

This isn’t Coinbase’s first battle with the SEC over public records. The company is already engaged in ongoing litigation to reveal internal SEC discussions on crypto oversight. Grewal insists that this latest effort isn’t about retaliation but about ensuring that regulatory missteps aren’t repeated.

Challenges in Obtaining SEC Records

While government records are supposed to be public, obtaining them is often met with bureaucratic delays and legal exemptions. The SEC may attempt to block the request by citing ongoing investigations, such as those against Kraken, Ripple, and Crypto.com. However, Coinbase argues that dismissed cases—like its own—should be open to scrutiny.

Grewal underscored the broader implications:

“Let’s get the facts on the table. Let’s tally up what the costs were. Let’s consider whether there were some benefits that ought to be measured as well. And then let’s decide, is this what we want for our country and for our economy, and how do we craft rules to make sure that this doesn’t happen again?”

Coinbase’s push for transparency highlights the growing tension between crypto firms and regulators. As the SEC undergoes leadership changes and shifts its stance on crypto enforcement, Coinbase’s efforts to uncover the agency’s past actions could set a precedent for future regulatory accountability. Whether the FOIA request succeeds or faces resistance, the battle for crypto oversight transparency is far from over.