• Coinbase has filed a petition for rulemaking with the SEC in July and was served a Wells notice for potential violations of securities law in March.
• In May, Coinbase filed a writ of mandamus to the US Securities and Exchange Commission requesting that they respond to their petition.
• Late last night, Coinbase replied in the Third Circuit to the SEC’s arguments against their petition for a writ of mandamus.
Coinbase Files Petition for Rulemaking with SEC
Coinbase has filed a petition for rulemaking with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in July seeking rules to govern digital assets. The cryptocurrency exchange was issued a Wells notice by the SEC for potential violations of securities laws in March.
Coinbase Seeks Writ of Mandamus from SEC
In May, Coinbase filed a writ of mandamus to the SEC, which is a formal request that the agency be required to respond. The exchange provided 50 questions for consideration when formulating rules on digitally native methods. As no response had been received by April, Coinbase sought an expedited resolution through this route.
SEC Argues Against Mandamus Writ
The U.S. Court of Appeals heard arguments from both parties concerning an appropriate timeline for rulemaking, even with this writ present. The SEC argued that because it was actively pursuing enforcement on these topics, any delay should be approved by court order only after months passed without action taken by them on the matter.
Coinbase Replies in Support of Petition
Late last night, Coinbase replied in support of its petition filing at the Third Circuit court hearing-calling its case “tailor-made” due to its unique circumstances and citing lack of precedent regarding similar delays when an agency was actively pursuing enforcement related matters as well as threatening suit against those involved with petitions like theirs.(SEC could reject or accept their call to action but would be open up to legal action if they chose not too.)
Conclusion
The reply submitted by Coinbase seeks relief from what it sees as unreasonable delay by the SEC despite facing threating lawsuits over digital asset regulations while also trying to get responses from other rule making petitions made since 2017