SEC Delays Response to Coinbase Appeal by 28 Days

Highlights:

• The United States SEC has delayed its response to Coinbase’s appeal by almost a month.
• In a filing, the regulatory agency cited possible impacts from the Crypto Task Force as a reason for the delay.
• Coinbase is aware of the delayed decision and consented to it.

According to a February 14 filing, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested a 28-day extension to respond to Coinbase’s appeal. The postponement decision was initiated and finalized in the US Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit. Notably, the new request from the SEC implies that the initial February 14 deadline has been shifted to March 14. This development would invariably prolong an already protracted court battle dating back to 2023.

The SEC highlighted possible reasons for the postponement and noted it is doing so for a good cause. Meanwhile, part of the factors that made the delay necessary was the Crypto Tax Force initiative introduced by the present SEC acting chairman, Mark Uyeda. The task force will help to clarify all confusing areas regarding crypto regulatory guidelines in the US.

The January 14 filing read in part:

“The crypto task force’s work may affect and could facilitate the potential resolution of both the underlying district court proceeding and potential appellate review, conserving judicial resources.”

Going further, the regulatory agency noted that because of the ongoing regulatory reviews, an extended timeline would give it the liberty to critically review and prepare a suitable response to Coinbase’s petition. Still, in the same documentation, the SEC noted that the new decision would not specifically favor any party. In addition, both entities involved in the legal dispute consented to the postponement.

🚨NEW: The filing is in and the @SECGov has requested a 28-day extension (until March 14, 2025) to file its answer to a petition from @coinbase to leave to file an interlocutory appeal.

Again, the @SECGov cites the agency’s new #crypto task force as having a potential impact on… https://t.co/XdwFBhgMPm pic.twitter.com/A6f6xB3qQJ

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) February 15, 2025

Origin of the Coinbase VS. SEC Feud

As earlier stated, the court battle between the SEC and Coinbase started in June 2023. The regulatory body alleged that the exchange broke security regulations. Notedly, the SEC claimed Coinbase operated its trading outlet without completing the registration requirements to qualify it as a national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.

Additionally, the regulatory watchdog alleged that Coinbase did not register the offer and the sale of its crypto asset staking-as-a-service initiative. By failing to complete these registrations, the SEC stated that Coinbase harmed its customers by depriving them of safe market participation entitlements. These include inspection by the SEC, recordkeeping requirements, and protection against conflicts of interest.

It is worth noting that Binance was indicted by the SEC within the same period that birthed Coinbase’s legal dispute. The SEC alleged that Binance flaunted similar rules highlighted in Coinbase’s lawsuit. Both exchanges have engaged the regulatory agency in several court appearances. However, nothing seems to be forthcoming as every court appearance ended in deadlocks.

SEC Delays Response Similar to Binance’s Lawsuit Pause

Before the decision to extend Coinbase’s appeal response time by 28 days, the same principle was already in play in the SEC VS. Binance court dispute. However, Binance’s case involved a longer pause. According to one of Crypto2Community’s old publications, the court paused the SEC and Binance’s lawsuit for 60 days. The reason for the delay was similar to Coinbase’s case, as it entails evaluating the Crypto Tax Force’s impacts.

🚨BREAKING: BINANCE AND THE U.S. SEC FILED A JOINT MOTION TO SUSPEND THEIR CASE FOR 60 DAYS, SAYS FOX BUSINESS REPORTER ELEANOR TERRETT

— BSCN Headlines (@BSCNheadlines) February 11, 2025

It is left to see how events unfold as each deadline approaches. Meanwhile, the postponement trend has a huge tendency to influence legal disputes involving other crypto-related entities like Kraken and Ripple. Relative to most other companies, the cross-border firm Ripple has suffered great litigation from the SEC since late 2020. The payment firm remains hopeful that the new wave of crypto regulatory guidelines reform assist in clearing it of all charges that have significantly hampered its expansion.