Coinbase puts FOIAs on US regulators investigating banks’ crypto hoarding.
Coinbase has filed two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with US regulators seeking, among other things, information about ongoing cryptocurrency fraud among US banks, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said.
The US bank deposit insurer, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), has reportedly required banks to deposit 15 percent of their total deposits with crypto companies.
“We've filed two new FOIA requests in our ongoing effort to gain some clarity on how regulatory agencies are approaching digital assets,” Grewal said in an Oct. 21 post on the X Forum.
“The first is about the digital asset deposit cap documents. [by the FDIC] And other banking regulators have been putting pressure on financial institutions,” Grewal said.
Coinbase has filed a second FOIA request to learn more about how regulators have responded to other crypto-related FOIAs in the past.
Three out of four crypto holders say the candidate's crypto policy will influence how they vote. Source: Gemini
Related: Harris beats Biden, delays Trump on crypto policy – Galaxy Research
The FDIC dropped the deposit account without first asking for public comment, which is generally a requirement for bank regulators under US law.
“Each one [FOIA request] Our individual FOIA files are now different from the federal prosecution cases of a year ago,” Grewal said.
In June, Coinbase filed suit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the FDIC.
In the year In 2023, Coinbase asked the SEC to disclose documents related to the agency's allocation of Ether (ETH).
The SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase in 2023 over securities laws over its ETH staking-as-a-service offering.
Spot ETH is classified as a commodity by US regulators, but the regulatory status of ETH staking pools is uncertain.
Coinbase also submitted FOIAs to the FDIC requesting information about “cease and desist letters” the agency sent to banks asking them to slow down the growth of crypto-related banking activities.
Stand With Crypto Coinbase's project for “common sense” digital asset regulation, a political action committee (PAC) launched in March to support pro-crypto candidates.
November's US presidential election pits Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has said he wants to make the US “the cryptocurrency capital of the world,” against Democrat Kamala Harris, who has been relatively quiet on the industry.
US Vice President Harris is friendlier than her boss, President Joe Biden, but not as pro-industry as rival and former President Trump, according to Galaxy Research on October 14, 2010.
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