: SEC Fails to Provide Clarity on Coinbase Court Order, Coinbase Reacts.

Coinbase Criticizes SEC for Lack of Response

Coinbase has sharply criticized the United States securities regulator for their lack of response to questions posed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in the course of its ongoing legal dispute with the regulator.

In a June 17 letter submitted to the Court, attorneys representing the cryptocurrency exchange challenged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for providing the Court with “no clear answers” regarding Coinbase’s petition for rulemaking, which requests the SEC to create a regulatory system for digital assets.

In its letter, Coinbase stated that, when asked by the Court to explain the glaring discrepancy between its legal stance and its other declarations and behavior, the SEC still failed to provide a direct response and merely recycled its pre-prepared statements.

In response to the SEC’s request for an additional 120 days to reply to Coinbase’s rulemaking petition on June 13, the letter was issued.

Coinbase asserted that the SEC was unwilling to inform the Court of any developments regarding its decision, noting that it “resisted even the Court’s directive to provide updates on its progress.”

The company asserted that the SEC’s lack of response, the drawn-out delays, and its enforcement decisions still have a negative effect on the crypto industry and SEC chair Gary Gensler is “continuing his journey to irrevocably harm a U.S. public company and the entire sector.”

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, stated in a set of tweets on June 17th that it is “uncommon for the government to ignore a direct question from a federal court.”

Despite SEC scrutiny, a Hong Kong legislator has extended an invitation to Coinbase to come to the region.

Grewal expressed his desire for the Court to issue a writ of Mandamus, a legal directive to a government official requiring them to execute their statutory obligations, since the SEC denied Coinbase’s request.

Coinbase is also requesting that the Court set a deadline of no more than 60 days from June 13, which is the date of the SEC’s request.

SEC Lawsuit Against Coinbase

In an unrelated matter, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase on June 6, accusing the trading platform of violating several securities regulations, particularly for allegedly providing cryptocurrencies that the agency considers to be unregistered securities.

Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the ultimate authority when it comes to crypto regulation?