Coinbase is pushing for a federal court order to compel a deeper investigation into the deletion of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s text messages, citing concerns over transparency and accountability at the U.S. securities regulator.
In a filing submitted Thursday through History Associates, Coinbase referenced a September 3 report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG), which revealed that the Securities and Exchange Commission had erased nearly a year’s worth of Gensler’s communications. According to the report, the agency excluded officials’ text messages when responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, even though some messages qualified as agency records.
“The Gensler SEC destroyed documents they were required to preserve and produce. We now have proof from the SEC’s own Inspector General,” said Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal in a post on X. “Today we ask the federal court to address this gross violation of public trust to ensure that it never happens again.”
The Gensler SEC destroyed documents they were required to preserve and produce. We now have proof from the SEC’s own Inspector General. Today we ask the federal court to address this gross violation of public trust to ensure that it never happens again. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/DPLtHUiolj
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) September 11, 2025
Nearly a Year of Texts Permanently Lost
The Inspector General’s review found that in September 2023, SEC IT staff carried out a factory reset on Gensler’s agency-issued smartphone, wiping all data—including text messages—from October 2022 through September 2023. That period covered pivotal moments in the crypto industry, including the collapse of FTX and the SEC’s stepped-up enforcement actions against major exchanges such as Coinbase.
The report noted that the deleted messages could have been preserved under existing protocols, but instead were permanently erased. Coinbase argues this undermines the integrity of public records, especially given ongoing disputes between the exchange and the SEC over crypto regulation.
Grewal said Coinbase had previously requested “all communications” from the SEC related to cryptocurrency regulatory and enforcement decisions. The company is now demanding expedited discovery, sanctions, and immediate production of any remaining responsive texts.
