The Coinbase has filed the Independence of Information Act to highlight the expenses of US Securities and Exchange Commission on Non-Frod Crypto investigation and enforcement operations under former president Gary Gennsler.
DemandCovering from April 2021 to January 2025, tries to throw light on the costs associated with SEC regulatory functions against the crypto industry.
According to Paul Grewal, the Chief Legal Officer of the Coinbase, the exchange is Transparency On investigation details, employee hours, salary and budget allocation. Grewal emphasized the need for accountability, especially as an SEC transition for new leadership.
Coinbase push for government transparency
Grewal underlined the objectives of the coinbase in a series of posts on X, questioning the financial burden of SEC’s regulatory approach on taxpayers.
“We know that the regulation-by-enforcement approach of the previous SEC cost Americans’ innovation, global leadership and jobs, but what was its cost in taxpayer dollars?” Grewal wrote.
He said that the purpose of the coinbase is to determine how many investigation and enforcement action was conducted, the number of employees and contractors involved, and overall expenses.
A special focus of FOIA request is SEC’s crypto assets and cyber unit, a division within the enforcement division.
The coinbase unit is asking for information about the budget, employee calculation and crypto-related investigation and enforcement related to the enforcement.
SEC budget justification under investigation
The coinbase request refers to the public report of the publicly available Congress, including the budget justification and previous performance reports of the Congress. The exchange is asking to support the documents that details the SEC expenditure on digital asset investigation and enforcement operations.
FOIA request especially wants information about digital asset prasad, secondary market transactions, stacking and borrowing enforcement operations.
The coinbase wants to assess whether SEC’s enforcement strategy has represented a justification of taxpayer funds or an overrach that increases crypto innovation.
A fight for regulator clarity
The coinbase has been an outspoken critic of the SEC’s stance on cryptocurrency regulation, often advocating clear, industry-specific guidelines rather than enforcement-mechanized inspection.
The FOIA request challenges another step in the widespread effort of the company what he sees as inappropriate regulatory practices.
Grewal said, “We will not stop fighting for government transparency from our customers and this industry,”
