The SEC has agreed to pay $150,000 and release new internal documents to settle a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by History Associates on behalf of Coinbase. This closes a contentious fight over access to agency records about how Ethereum was assessed after its switch to proof-of-stake consensus. The lawsuit, filed in June 2024, aimed to expose internal SEC communications around Ethereum’s evolving legal standing, specifically whether staff discussed how its move away from mining might change its treatment under securities law.
Court filings show the requests zeroed in on agency emails and deliberations about Ethereum’s shift, including any evidence of a policy shift or internal debate. The settlement matters because it opens a window onto years of internal thinking about a top crypto asset at a critical technical transition. The case also became entangled with missing SEC text messages from a key period in the agency’s crypto enforcement campaign, creating a gap in what may be available. Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal highlighted the significance of those missing messages for understanding how the agency set its approach.
The next major development is what we learn from the batch of surviving documents, and whether they clarify how, or if, the SEC’s view on Ethereum actually changed after proof-of-stake.