Coinbase narrows its subpoena for Gary Gensler's emails and communication to only during his time as SEC chair

Crypto exchange Coinbase slimmed down its subpoena to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler and will only seek information related to his time leading the agency following concerns from a New York judge.

Coinbase served Gensler with a subpoena in June, asking the chair to produce documents concerning certain communications that the exchange said were relevant to its ongoing case with the SEC. Those documents included statements about crypto from 2017 to the present, covering the four years before Gensler was sworn in in 2021. 

"With respect to the subpoena to Mr. Gensler, Coinbase has determined to seek the production of Mr. Gensler’s documents only for the period of his tenure as Chair of the SEC and not before that time," Coinbase's lawyer said in a scheduling document filed Monday. 

The SEC had pushed back against the subpoena, calling it an "improper intrusion into a public official's private life."

During a court hearing last week, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of New York raised concerns about a July 3 letter Coinbase filed arguing that Gensler's personal emails about crypto were "an appropriate source of recovery."

"I was sort of surprised, and not in a good way, by the July 3 response," Judge Failla said during the pre-trial motion conference on July 11. Judge Failla said she had specific concerns, including Coinbase's argument about Gensler's private communications. 

Ultimately, Judge Failla said she "was just not moved by basically any of the arguments." She eventually decided it would be best for Coinbase to file a motion to compel, though she did not seem persuaded by the exchange's push for a subpoena. 

Coinbase said in its letter scheduling its motion to compel that it would file an opening brief on July 23. 

The SEC and Coinbase have been embroiled in a lawsuit since last year when the agency sued Coinbase for operating its platform without registering. Coinbase had moved to dismiss that lawsuit but was shut down by Judge Failla in March. The judge said that the SEC had "sufficiently pleaded" that Coinbase operated as an exchange, broker, and clearing agency and engaged in the unregistered sale of securities through its staking program. However, she did dismiss a claim regarding Coinbase’s Wallet application.