SEC seeks four-month extension in Coinbase securities case

The United States Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) is asking the court for more time—four extra months—to finish gathering facts in its case against Coinbase, from the original deadline of October 18, 2024, to February 18, 2025. 

The SEC also wants to change the schedule for the case to reflect this new deadline. Coinbase agrees to this request.

So far, the SEC has provided a huge amount of documents to Coinbase. The court previously told the SEC to review even more documents. Both parties have agreed on which search terms and people the SEC should focus on. 

The SEC is now reviewing over 133,000 new documents. This extension is needed to give the SEC enough time to finish the review and follow the court’s instructions.

The case between the SEC and Coinbase began on June 6, 2023, when the SEC charged Coinbase with operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. 

The SEC accused Coinbase of violating federal securities laws by facilitating the trading of certain cryptocurrencies without proper registration. 

They also claimed that Coinbase’s staking program, which allows users to earn rewards by participating in blockchain validation, was essentially an unregistered securities offering.

In March 2024, a judge ruled that the SEC could proceed with its case against Coinbase, finding that the SEC had presented enough evidence to support its claims. 

However, the court dismissed some of the SEC’s accusations, specifically those regarding Coinbase acting as an unregistered broker through its wallet application.

Coinbase has argued against the SEC’s claims, stating that many of the digital assets traded on its platform should not be classified as securities. They also contend that the SEC lacks the authority to regulate their operations in this manner. 

This extension gives both the SEC and Coinbase more time to prepare their arguments and gather evidence.