Coinbase continues push to compel SEC to act on crypto rulemaking petition

Coinbase has doubled down on its push for a court order compelling the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to act on the firm’s crypto rulemaking petition.

Coinbase wants a mandamus issued within 30 days to compel the SEC to give an official answer on whether it will accept or deny the petition.

The SEC submitted a long-awaited status update on Oct. 12, vaguely stating that “commission staff provided a recommendation” to the SEC over Coinbase’s petition, but did not divulge any further details.

In an Oct. 13 X post, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal slammed the SEC for dragging its heels, as he called for a mandamus to force the SEC into adequately outlining its intentions.

We’ve filed our response with the Third Circuit. Tl;dr: the SEC’s unilluminating “update” is mere bureaucratic pantomime and confirms that nothing short of mandamus will prompt the agency to take its obligations seriously. 1/3 https://t.co/DC1o8EflcH

— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) October 14, 2023

Grewal also shared Coinbase’s response to the SEC update that it filed with the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

“The SEC’s unilluminating report is mere bureaucratic pantomime and confirms that nothing short of mandamus will prompt the agency to take its obligations seriously. It took more than a year and an order from this Court to elicit even a staff-level recommendation,” the response reads, adding that:

“The Commission has resolved not to conduct the rulemaking Coinbase requested, and it will exploit every bureaucratic artifice in its arsenal to forestall judicial review so long as the Court allows it.”

Coinbase initially filed the rulemaking petition in July 2022, requesting the SEC to “propose and adopt rules” to govern the crypto market, including potential rules to clearly outline which digital assets fall under the definition of securities.

After the SEC failed to respond, Coinbase filed a petition for mandamus nine months later, seeking the court to compel the SEC to give a “yes or no” answer.

Related: Coinbase spot trading volume falls by 52% compared to 2022: Report

However, the SEC has fired back on multiple occasions, refuting the need to meet Coinbase’s requirements while also asking the court to deny Coinbase’s petition for mandamus.

In mid June, the SEC then asked the court for an additional 120 days to respond to the rulemaking petition. Such a timeline suggests that the agency may have an answer by the end of October or early November.

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