• Coinbase is demanding answers from the SEC, wanting to know the real cost of its crypto crackdown.
• The crypto exchange has officially requested documents from the SEC, focusing on the era when Gary Gensler was at the helm.

Coinbase is pushing for transparency and has formally requested a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to get a full breakdown of exactly how much the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has spent on its so-called “war on crypto.”

Specifically, through this FOIA request, the crypto exchange is aiming to make public the precise amount of taxpayer money the SEC has used in its “regulation by enforcement” approach to crypto between April 2021 and January 2025.

Coinbase has laid out all the details of what they are seeking in an official filing made on Monday, March 3, 2025.

What else is Coinbase hoping to uncover with this FOIA request?

The exchange is keen to find out just how much the SEC has funneled into investigations, lawsuits, and paying its enforcement team. According to the formal request, regulators should provide a clear financial picture of the costs associated with pursuing cases related to digital assets, secondary market activities, and those offering staking and lending services in the crypto space.

“We already know that the previous SEC’s regulation-by-enforcement strategy stifled innovation, damaged our global standing, and cost jobs for Americans. But what did it actually cost the taxpayer?” questioned Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer. “Today, Coinbase took action and submitted a FOIA request asking the SEC to come clean about how much its ‘war on crypto’ has cost taxpayers,” he added.

Expanding on this, Grewal shared:

“What do we hope to reveal? We want to see the sheer number of investigations and enforcement actions launched – and their total price tag. We’re asking for the staff numbers and salaries involved in these actions. And finally, we need to know about the use of external contractors in these efforts and their costs,” the Coinbase CLO elaborated in a post on X.

This request arrives at a time when the SEC seems to be scaling back, having recently dropped a number of crypto cases and investigations. This includes their own lawsuit action against Coinbase itself, and also against the crypto platform Gemini.

Under fresh leadership since Gary Gensler’s departure in January 2025, the SEC has also reportedly closed investigations into platforms like Opensea, Robinhood, Uniswap, and MetaMask.

Grewal explains that this FOIA request boils down to the principle of transparency. American taxpayers, he argues, have every right to this information. Coinbase is optimistic that the current SEC leadership will be willing to provide the requested details.