SEC Settles Coinbase Records Lawsuit, Agrees to Pay $150,000 Over Deleted Texts

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has settled a lawsuit with Coinbase over the release of internal documents, agreeing to pay $150,000 in legal fees.

Cointelegraph reported on July 23 that the SEC and Coinbase filed a settlement agreement in court, ending a legal dispute that had lasted about two years. Coinbase had sued to obtain internal records from the regulator tied to the Biden administration's crackdown on the crypto industry.

The settlement follows a 2025 SEC internal audit that found roughly a year's worth of text messages between former SEC Chair Gary Gensler and other senior officials had been deleted because of a "preventable error." In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published that day, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said the agency charged with overseeing corporate recordkeeping had lost a large volume of messages exchanged between Gensler and other officials during the height of its anti-crypto campaign. He added that the SEC would pay $150,000 and had improved its records-retention policies.

The decision is another legal victory for Coinbase since the Trump administration took office. Under Chair Paul Atkins, the SEC has shifted to a more crypto-friendly stance and has withdrawn several major enforcement actions against crypto companies, including Coinbase, in 2025.

Grewal will move into an advisory role effective July 31. Coinbase Vice President of Legal Molly Abraham and Ryan VanGrack will assume the roles of general counsel and vice chair, respectively.