SEC Settles FOIA Suit With Coinbase. Agency Pays $150,000 Over Lost Gensler Text Messages

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to pay $150,000 in legal fees to settle a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by Coinbase.

The suit closes a two-year dispute over internal records from the agency's crypto enforcement campaign under former Chair Gary Gensler.

The agency's inspector general found in 2025 that text messages from a key period, including the aftermath of the FTX collapse, were lost after an automated policy triggered an enterprise wipe of his device.

"Unlike the SEC in the previous administration, this SEC acknowledges that what it did was wrong and wants to make sure it doesn't happen again," Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of Coinbase said in interview with Bloomberg.

FDIC Settled a Related Dispute in February

Coinbase's litigation targeted both the SEC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, arguing that regulators pressured banks to cut ties with crypto firms, a pattern the industry labelled "Operation Choke Point 2.0."

The FDIC settled its part of the case in February, paying more than $188,000 in legal fees and releasing correspondence that Coinbase said showed the agency discouraging banks from crypto-related activity.

SEC Has Dropped Several Crypto Cases since 2025

Since the change in administration, the SEC has dropped a series of major crypto enforcement actions, including its lawsuit against Coinbase, and is drafting rules that would let brokers offer blockchain-based stocks.

The settlement follows a run of 2026 crypto listings, including Circle, BitGo, and Bullish. For Coinbase, it closes one of the legal actions the company filed against federal regulators over their handling of crypto policy during 2022–2024.

The FDIC and SEC cases were part of the same litigation track; both have now been resolved through fee settlements rather than court rulings on the underlying FOIA claims.