Coinbase Secures Fundamental Legal Win at 2025 Start: Details

Major crypto exchange Coinbase has kicked off 2025 with a fundamental legal win.In a tweet, Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal revealed that the company has finally obtained the unredacted OCP 2.0 letters from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). This achievement came after a court order mandated the release of these documents and also clearing the redactions."We finally got the unredacted OCP 2.0 letters from FDIC. It took a Court order but you can now read them for yourself below," Grewal said. Operation Chokepoint OCP 2.0 refers to an administrative policy that restricts financial services to entities, including payday lenders and other "undesirable" businesses.We finally got the unredacted OCP 2.0 letters from @FDICgov. It took a Court order but you can now read them for yourself below. They show a coordinated effort to stop a wide variety of crypto activity — everything from basic BTC transactions to more complex offerings. 1/3Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal added that the letters showed efforts by the banking regulator to stop lenders from offering or considering products and services in the digital assets sector. "They show a coordinated effort to stop a wide variety of crypto activity — everything from basic BTC transactions to more complex offerings," Grewal stated.Grewal revealed a fresh discovery as part of this feat, stating that the FDIC had "magically" found two more pause letters during the search.Coinbase's legal pushCoinbase's hired help, History Associates, had taken the FDIC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to court in June last year. Coinbase claimed it has been improperly rebuffed by the SEC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. regarding documents that should be available under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).At the FDIC, Coinbase sought copies of the so-called "pause letters" sent to financial firms directing them to halt crypto activities.Coinbase requested written communications from the SEC in three closed cases on how the regulator formally determined which digital assets it believes qualify as securities. Coinbase also sued the SEC, seeking a court order that would force the regulator to issue guidance defining digital asset securities.Coinbase eventually gained access to certain internal FDIC communications in a celebrated victory.