Coinbase is looking for FDIC docs on crypto ‘pause letters’.
The lawsuit has resumed after the FDIC’s transparency fell quick.
Historical past Associates has additionally filed a movement to elevate a keep in its personal FOIA case towards the FDIC.
Coinbase, a number one US-based cryptocurrency change, has filed a movement within the D.C. District Court docket to revive its Freedom of Data Act (FOIA) lawsuit towards the Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Company (FDIC).
The change alleges that the FDIC has been withholding important paperwork associated to its communications with banks about cryptocurrency actions.
Particularly, Coinbase is looking for data tied to the so-called “pause letters,” which reportedly instructed banks to halt crypto-related companies, a transfer the corporate views as a part of a broader effort to stifle the business.
Why is Coinbase reviving the lawsuit?
This authorized motion marks the resumption of a case that was initially paused in February 2025 following the appointment of Travis Hill as performing FDIC chairman by President Trump.
Hill had pledged to reinforce the company’s transparency past FOIA necessities, elevating hopes that Coinbase would possibly acquire the knowledge it sought with out additional litigation.
The pause mirrored an optimistic second, suggesting a possible shift within the FDIC’s strategy beneath new management.
Nonetheless, Coinbase’s Chief Authorized Officer, Paul Grewal, just lately expressed to journalist Eleanor Terrett that whereas cooperation has improved, it stays inadequate, prompting the corporate to push ahead with the lawsuit.
Additionally, the FDIC’s latest coverage shift provides context to Coinbase’s persistence. The FDIC had introduced that banks now not want prior approval to interact in legally permitted cryptocurrency actions, supplied they handle related dangers successfully.
Nonetheless, FDIC reversed the coverage, departing from the earlier administration’s cautious stance and signaling a extra crypto-friendly surroundings.
Nonetheless, Coinbase argues that this alteration doesn’t negate the necessity for transparency about previous actions, significantly what it calls “Operation Chokepoint 2.0”—an alleged coordinated effort by regulators to limit the crypto sector’s entry to banking companies.
Historical past Associates has additionally filed a movement towards the FDIC
Coinbase’s lawsuit echoes a parallel authorized effort by Historical past Associates Included, which additionally filed a movement on March 31, 2025, to elevate a keep in its personal FOIA case towards the FDIC.
Historical past Associates claims the FDIC has didn’t cooperate in an off-the-cuff information-sharing course of ordered by the court docket, refusing to offer particulars about its FOIA practices, akin to doc preservation and search strategies.
Each lawsuits spotlight rising frustration with the FDIC’s opacity, regardless of its guarantees of openness beneath Hill’s management.
Notably, the stakes are excessive for Coinbase, because the paperwork it seeks might reveal the extent of regulatory stress on banks to restrict crypto dealings.
Earlier FOIA requests have uncovered letters from the FDIC advising banks to pause such actions, fueling suspicions of a deliberate marketing campaign towards the business.
With the FDIC anticipated to reply to Coinbase’s movement inside two weeks, the result might set a precedent for the way federal businesses deal with transparency within the quickly evolving crypto panorama.
