Aiming to improve openness on the continuous regulatory inspection of bitcoin enterprises, Coinbase has asked two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to U.S. regulatory agencies. Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s principal legal officer, described this incident and stressed the need of clarity among developing rules on cryptocurrency businesses.
Reports indicate that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has directed banks to restrict deposits from cryptocurrency companies to 15% of their whole capacity. Coinbase said that U.S. law does not call for the required public engagement to approve this rule. Grewal underlined how crucial these FOIA investigations are for understanding the regulatory scene around digital assets.
One of the requests relates to the deposit restrictions established by the FDIC and other financial authorities, while the second one asks for information on how agencies have handled earlier crypto-related FOIA requests. Grewal noted that similar demands are currently active in continuing federal litigation involving legal actions against the FDIC and the SEC for not following earlier disclosure requests, not connected to past filings.
Coinbase paid penalties to the SEC on ETH staking activities after also requesting clarity on Ether (ETH) classification in 2023. Coinbase has also requested specifics on “pause letters” allegedly sent by the FDIC to banks aimed to slow down the spread of crypto-related activity.
Starting the “Stand with Crypto” campaign, Coinbase aims to promote such regulations by means of a political action committee (PAC) targeted at supporting candidates endorsing favorable legislation for cryptocurrency.
Coinbase’s activities reveal a clear interest in how political decisions can shape the path of cryptocurrencies moving ahead as the U.S. presidential election approaches. While less so than Republican opponent Donald Trump, who has said he wants the United States to be the “crypto capital of the world,” Democratic challenger Kamala Harris seems to be more pro-crypto than present President Biden. Many of the crypto community view the approaching election as a turning moment that may influence the direction of the industry.
