Coinbase filed two new Freedom of Info Act (FOIA) requests on Oct. 18, searching for regulatory readability for crypto within the US.
The brand new requests are directed on the Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Company (FDIC) and have been filed by Historical past Associates Included on behalf of the alternate.
Coinbase chief authorized officer Paul Grewal mentioned one of many requests is to make clear a 15% deposit cap allegedly imposed on digital asset corporations. The request claims that the 15% deposit cap was imposed on banks equivalent to Signature Financial institution, Prospects Financial institution, Cross River Financial institution, Western Alliance Financial institution, and Silvergate Financial institution.
Among the many paperwork requested are interactions courting again to June 1, 2022, amongst FDIC board members, employees, depository establishments, and officers from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury’s Workplace of the Comptroller of the Foreign money (OCC).
Notably, ought to the FDIC invoke any FOIA exemptions or withhold related data, Coinbase has requested for an in depth rationalization of the explanations for non-disclosure.
Businesses and FOIA requests
The second request is expounded to understanding how regulatory businesses have dealt with FOIA requests. The alternate has requested FDIC and OCC FOIA logs from Jan. 1, 2022, to Oct. 1.
The request specifies that these logs be offered in a text-searchable format, emphasizing the significance of ease of entry and transparency in processing these paperwork.
By monitoring the move of FOIA requests, Coinbase goals to know the businesses’ method to releasing — or withholding — data, significantly any which may relate to digital asset rules.
Whereas this explicit request doesn’t immediately search particulars about regulatory selections, it demonstrates the alternate’s deal with clarifying the executive processes behind these selections.
By asking for FOIA logs, Coinbase can observe patterns in regulators’ responses to inquiries, probably figuring out tendencies that would reveal how crypto-related data is managed by monetary watchdogs.
Custodia Financial institution CEO Caitlyn Lengthy said that federal banking regulators’ “lawlessness” towards US banks which have crypto corporations as purchasers will “proceed to be uncovered.”
Different FOIA requests
Grewal additionally highlighted that each requests are separate from the FOIA-based requests filed by Coinbase in July 2023, which have been directed on the SEC.
The requests sought clarification on how the regulator conducts enforcement actions in opposition to crypto companies and the premise it makes use of to designate sure digital property as securities.
Coinbase filed a movement for partial abstract judgment in its lawsuit in opposition to the SEC on Oct. 18, searching for the discharge of inner paperwork associated to the company’s enforcement methods towards the crypto trade.
This follows the SEC’s delays in producing paperwork initially withheld underneath the Freedom of Info Act (FOIA). Coinbase contends that the SEC’s delays are unjustified and seeks readability on how the company applies securities legal guidelines to crypto property, highlighting a broader effort to problem the regulator’s method.
