SEC Spending Under Scrutiny: Coinbase Demands Transparency on Crypto Enforcement Costs

March 5, 2025 - 2 min. read

By Karim Noun

SEC

Coinbase is demanding information about crypto enforcement costs at the Securities and Exchange Commission during the period when Gary Gensler was in control. As Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal from the company made a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain details about expenses from employee hours to contractor costs and more in the SEC’s “crypto war” efforts.

Impact on the Industry

Grewal demonstrated through investigative work on Coinbase and Gemini along with other firms that the U.S. workforce and technological leadership worldwide suffered significant impacts. The previous SEC gov through its enforcement-based regulatory method caused Americans to lose their leadership position and career opportunities overseas and potentially spent many federal dollars. he stated.

Coinbase Exchange

Details of the FOIA Request

The 17-point filing seeks information about:

The number of enforcement actions against digital asset companies, Costs associated with these efforts and finally,  The quantity of personnel who monitor crypto investments

Recent Developments

In February the SEC terminated its legal challenge against Coinbase which showed regulatory flexibility from the agency. Gemini Winklevoss brothers objjected to the SEC’s methods because they believe the agancy wasted money on fees related to investigations against their platform.

Coinbase’s Information Request

The FOIA request Coinbase filed reveals that the public wants more transparency and accountability from crypto regulators. Grewal made a promise to continue the organization’s struggle for government transparency both on behalf of customers and this industry. The new SEC task force aims to offer improved regulative direction but Coinbase insists on acquiring transparency about how public funds were utilized.

Karim Noun

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