The US Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) has requested a four-month extension to finish truth discovery in its lawsuit towards Coinbase.
In a letter submitted to Decide Katherine Polk Failla on Sept. 18, the SEC requested to maneuver the present discovery deadline from Oct. 18 to Feb. 18, 2025. The company mentioned the extension would permit it to evaluate a considerable quantity of extra paperwork.
Extension request
In its letter, the SEC highlighted its ongoing efforts to adjust to the court docket’s discovery necessities, noting that it has produced “a whole lot of hundreds” of paperwork for Coinbase. The regulator added that it’s presently following a court docket order and reviewing a further 133,582 distinctive paperwork.
The SEC reached an settlement with Coinbase relating to the search phrases and custodians for the evaluate. Nevertheless, the company famous that it requires extra time to finish the duty and highlighted that this marks the primary such request within the case.
The SEC’s request additionally included a proposal to amend the Civil Case Administration Plan, extending all subsequent deadlines by 4 months. The extension would affect future proceedings within the case, together with key deadlines associated to motions and trial preparations.
Coinbase has consented to each extensions, which might give each events extra time to arrange for the following section of the lawsuit.
SEC vs. Coinbase
The lawsuit between the US Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) and Coinbase started in June 2023, when the SEC accused the change of working as an unregistered securities dealer.
The SEC claimed that a number of digital belongings supplied on Coinbase’s platform had been unregistered securities, violating US securities legal guidelines. The case is predicated on the Howey Check, a authorized framework used to find out what constitutes a safety.
Coinbase has disputed the SEC’s claims, arguing that the belongings on its platform don’t meet the definition of securities and that the corporate complies with current legal guidelines. The case has concerned intensive discovery efforts, with each events agreeing to a number of doc critiques.
Coinbase has additionally filed a movement to dismiss the SEC’s lawsuit, arguing that the watchdog’s claims lack advantage and that the company is overreaching in its regulatory authority over cryptocurrencies. The change additional argued that the SEC has failed to offer the mandatory readability on which digital belongings fall below securities regulation.
This case is seen as a key authorized battle within the regulation of cryptocurrencies within the US and, relying on its final result, may have broad implications for the business.