Coinbase, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, recently filed two new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests on October 18th. These requests were aimed at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in an effort to seek regulatory clarity for crypto operations in the United States.
One of the requests made by Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, is to clarify a 15% deposit cap that was allegedly imposed on various digital asset companies by banks like Signature Bank, Customers Bank, Cross River Bank, Western Alliance Bank, and Silvergate Bank. The exchange is seeking documents dating back to June 1, 2022, to shed light on interactions among FDIC board members, staff, depository institutions, and officials from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
Additionally, Coinbase’s second FOIA request focuses on understanding how regulatory agencies handle FOIA requests. The exchange requested FDIC and OCC FOIA logs from January 1, 2022, to October 1, to better comprehend the agencies’ approach to disclosing information related to digital asset regulations. By tracking these logs, Coinbase hopes to identify patterns in regulators’ responses to inquiries, potentially revealing how crypto-related information is managed by financial watchdogs.
Custodia Bank CEO Caitlyn Long has criticized federal banking regulators for their “lawlessness” towards US banks that have clients involved in crypto operations. Long believes that exposing these actions will shed light on the challenges faced by banks in the crypto space.
It is important to note that these recent FOIA requests made by Coinbase are separate from the ones filed in July 2023, which were directed at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The previous requests aimed to gain clarity on how the SEC enforces actions against crypto firms and designates digital assets as securities. Coinbase filed a motion for partial summary judgment in its lawsuit against the SEC on October 18th to push for the release of internal documents related to the agency’s enforcement strategies within the crypto industry.
Overall, Coinbase’s FOIA requests reflect the exchange’s commitment to transparency and regulatory clarity within the crypto space. By seeking information from regulatory agencies like the FDIC and OCC, Coinbase hopes to better understand how these entities manage and disclose information related to digital assets and crypto regulations.