In a filing on Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) canceled Coinbase’s petition for clearer crypto regulation. The federal regulator has asked the Appeal Court to reject Coinbase’s request, which compels it to respond to the rulemaking petition.
In its filing, the SEC stated that Coinbase’s legal move for a new regulation is “baseless,” and the exchange has not proven to it that the crypto industry needs a new regulatory framework. Furthermore, the SEC insists that the rulemaking petition filed by Coinbase remains an ordinary request.
Coinbase appealed to a federal court in April, requesting that it compel the SEC to respond to its rulemaking petition filed with the regulator ten months ago. The court responded positively to the request, handing the SEC a writ of mandamus obliging the federal regulator to respond to the petition within ten days.
SEC Drags Coinbase in Response
In the filing, the SEC stated that Coinbase expects it to respond to its rulemaking request after eight months, while the exchange has repeatedly responded to its petitions in other areas in five to ten years.
“As Coinbase’s own submissions make clear, considering the various paths it suggests is a necessarily complicated endeavor. Yet Coinbase filed its rulemaking petition fewer than ten months ago, supplemented aspects of the petition fewer than three months ago, and sought to supplement the record again only weeks ago,” the SEC stated.
The regulator further clarified the notion Coinbase has that it has already decided not to respond to its petition as false. The regulator also asserted that Coinbase’s new regulatory push did not qualify it for extraordinary relief and called for it to be denied.
Coinbase’s CLO Fumes Over SEC’s Response
In a tweet on Tuesday, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Paul Grewal, expressed disappointment with the SEC’s response to the writ of mandamus issued by the court. He alleged that the US regulator gave a different answer than the order requested.
According to Grewal, Coinbase’s distress over an unclear regulation of digital assets might continue, giving the SEC the avenue to “continue changing its mind along the way.” Grewal noted that the exchange would formally reply to the filing by next week.
The tussle between Coinbase and the SEC continues, with both parties refusing to back down from their positions. Coinbase is now looking overseas to avert the intense scrutiny its business has come under from the US regulator.
