Coinbase, History Associates Sue FDIC over Undisclosed Crypto-Related Documents
Summary:
History Associates has teamed up with Coinbase to legally challenge the FDIC's denial to disclose documents, namely 'pause letters', sought via a Freedom of Information Act request. These 'pause letters' allegedly instructed finance organizations to stop all crypto-related activities. The lawsuit aims to force the FDIC to release these documents, shedding light on the FDIC's actions against the digital asset industry, and promote accountability and transparency in regulatory procedures. Coinbase is also currently in a distinct legal dispute with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission with regard to unregistered securities trading.
History Associates has rallied alongside Coinbase to take legal action against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), seeking to force their compliance with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and to make the sought-after records accessible. Initiated as a reaction to the FDIC's refusal to disclose certain documents, known as 'pause letters', the complaint was filed on June 27th. Allegedly issued by the agency’s inspector general, these letters instructed finance organizations to cease all crypto-related activities. Coinbase's choice to team up with History Associates was to dispatch a FOIA request to the FDIC, but this approach was not met with approval, resulting in the latter's decision to take legal action and pressure the FDIC into releasing the requested documents.
The filed complaint purports that these letters, mandating finance firms to halt all digital currency activities, could be a calculated strategy that the FDIC, along with other regulatory bodies, is using to force these institutions to sever ties with digital asset companies. In History Associates' statements, it claims similarities between the current situation and a prior strategy known as 'Operation Choke Point', a program that has stirred up controversy due to finance regulators urging banks to cut off their relationships with specific sectors, like payday lenders.
Nonetheless, the FOIA necessitates that federal agencies must disclose any requested information, save for particular exemptions. Also, any non-exempt components of records should be provided, even if certain segments of the records fall under exemption. In light of this, the FDIC's refusal to disclose the 'pause letters' due to supposed exemptions relating to trade secrets and examination materials has been contested due to the lack of detailed explanation.
The main objective is to push the FDIC to disclose the 'pause letters' along with other pertinent documents, in order to expose the magnitude and character of the FDIC's operations against the digital currency sector. Furthermore, by initiating this legal action, History Associates also aims to hold the FDIC and other regulatory bodies accountable, while promoting transparency in their procedures.
Coinbase is presently engaged in another distinct legal disagreement with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), which alleges Coinbase's illegal operations of an unregistered securities exchange. However, litigation analyst Elliott Stein has hinted that there is an unlikely chance of the crypto exchange suffering defeat against the SEC. A topic of interest is that El Salvador's national Bitcoin administrator has recently been persuading Argentina to adopt Bitcoin.
Published At
6/28/2024 11:25:31 AM
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