The SEC settles with Coinbase over its missing Gary Gensler texts

PolicyThe SEC settles with Coinbase over its missing Gary Gensler textsA new court status report reveals the agency will pay a flat fee to resolve a two-year fight over what former Chair Gary Gensler knew about Ethereum.By Olivier Acuna|Edited by Jamie Crawley Jul 23, 2026, 3:36 p.m. 2 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX iconX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on SummaryShowThe Securities and Exchange Commission agreed to pay $150,000 and produce remaining records to settle a FOIA lawsuit over its investigations into Ethereum.History Associates Inc., working on behalf of Coinbase, had sued in June 2024 after the SEC failed to fully respond to records requests about Ethereum’s shift to proof-of-stake and earlier crypto enforcement actions.The case, which forced the SEC to turn over thousands of documents and revealed the deletion of texts and data from phones of top officials including Gary Gensler, will be dismissed once final production is complete.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit over its investigations into Ethereum, according to a joint status report filed July 22.History Associates Inc. and the SEC asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss the case after reaching a settlement deal. Under the agreement, the agency will produce the remaining responsive documents and pay the flat fee to cover the plaintiff's legal fees.History Associates, which provides professional historical research, writing and archival services to government agencies, filed the lawsuit in June 2024. Working on behalf of Coinbase, the firm had submitted three public records requests the year before. Those filings sought documents on SEC investigations into Zachary Coburn and Enigma MPC, along with records on how Ethereum shifted to a proof-of-stake system.The lawsuit compelled the SEC to hand over thousands of documents, with th…

The SEC settles with Coinbase over its missing Gary Gensler texts

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