The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to pay $150,000 to resolve a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit over records tied to its Ethereum investigation.
According to a joint case status report filed on July 22, the SEC and plaintiff History Associates Inc. reached a settlement and asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss the case. Under the agreement, the SEC will keep producing the remaining responsive records and pay a fixed amount to cover the plaintiff’s legal fees.
Coinbase-backed records request
History Associates filed the lawsuit in June 2024 on behalf of Coinbase. The request sought materials related to the SEC’s regulatory review of Ethereum, including investigative files involving Zachary Coburn and Enigma MPC, as well as records of internal discussions about Ethereum’s transition from proof-of-work, or PoW, to proof-of-stake, or PoS.
Earlier in the case, the lawsuit pushed the SEC to turn over thousands of documents. The court also ordered the agency to prioritize communications that former Chair Gary Gensler sent, received, or reviewed during Ethereum’s move from PoW to PoS.
Deleted records drew scrutiny
The case also drew attention to deleted records at the SEC. During the litigation, the agency faced criticism over the deletion of some of Gensler’s text messages.
The SEC’s Office of Inspector General had previously disclosed that the agency accidentally deleted Gensler’s text messages from October 2022 through September 2023. Later filings showed that data from 21 phones used by senior officials had also been wiped.
Case set to end after final production
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the matter highlighted transparency issues in how government agencies handled crypto regulation. He also said the lawsuit was intended to help the public gain access to the basis for regulatory decision-making.
Once the SEC completes production of the remaining documents, the lawsuit, which has lasted for more than two years, will formally end.