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SEC to pay $150,000 in Coinbase-backed FOIA lawsuit settlement
The July 22 settlement also requires the SEC to release two previously withheld documents and review its records and text message preservation practices.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will pay $150,000 in legal fees and review how it preserves records as part of a July 22 settlement ending a Coinbase-backed public-records lawsuit, according to CryptoSlate.
History Associates, the company working with Coinbase, filed the case on June 27, 2024. The matter closed through a deal before a judge weighed the SEC’s conduct, with the public record noting no admission of wrongdoing.
Under the settlement, the SEC must release two documents it previously withheld, and complete a review of its records and text message preservation. CryptoSlate notes that what the two documents contain, and the timing for their release, were not publicly established in the reporting.
Separately, the SEC inspector general found in September 2025 that avoidable device management errors led to the loss of former Chair Gary Gensler’s texts from Oct. 18, 2022, through Sept. 6, 2023, and said the missing messages likely included federal records. The outlet says stronger controls could affect future FOIA request outcomes, including those tied to crypto policy or enforcement.