Core Allegations: Missing Messages and Regulatory Hypocrisy
In a dramatic escalation of its ongoing regulatory conflict, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has launched an unprecedented legal offensive against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The move centers on allegations of deleted official communications that could fundamentally reshape the nature of the dispute between the regulatory body and the digital asset industry.
Coinbase filed a compelling lawsuit this past Friday that accuses the SEC of systematically destroying text messages from former Chairman Gary Gensler and other senior officials. The allegedly deleted communications span a critical period from October 2022 through September 2023?a timeframe that encompasses both the spectacular collapse of FTX and the regulator's intensified enforcement campaign against cryptocurrency firms.