Coinbase files petition for review after SEC rejects rulemaking petition

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal warned that Coinbase would take legal action earlier Friday

article-image

Sergei Elagin/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Coinbase officially filed a legal challenge to the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s denial of its rulemaking petition from 2022. 

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal posted on X about the filing, saying, “Promise made, promise kept.”

Grewal called the decision “arbitrary and capricious.”

In its petition for review, Coinbase argued that the SEC’s denial is an “abuse of discretion and contrary to law, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.”

“The Commission’s refusal to engage in rulemaking, even while it continues a campaign of regulation by enforcement against Coinbase and others that exceeds its statutory authority, flouts the APA and fundamental principles of fairness it embodies,” Coinbase said. 

Read more: Peirce, Uyeda ‘disagree’ with SEC decision to deny Coinbase petition

The July 2022 petition was filed by Coinbase arguing that crypto needs an “updated rulebook” to guide companies, and “crypto assets that are not securities need the certainty of being outside those rules.”

After the SEC didn’t respond to the petition — and Coinbase received a Wells Notice — the exchange took things further and filed a writ of mandamus with the Third Circuit. Coinbase filed its petition for review in the same docket. 

Coinbase gave the SEC two requests for action earlier this year, with the SEC declining to give them regulatory clarity. 

The SEC also has an open lawsuit against Coinbase. It claims that the company operated as an unregistered exchange while offering and selling unregistered securities. It also targeted its staking product. 

SEC Chair Gary Gensler said on Friday that he agreed with the SEC’s decision to deny Coinbase’s rulemaking petition.

“The Commission and its staff are currently pursuing numerous undertakings applicable to crypto asset securities and intermediaries, and the Commission’s assessment of whether and, if so, how to alter the existing regulatory regime may be informed by the results of these initiatives,” he said.

Coinbase’s Grewal said, “no one looking fairly at our industry thinks the law is clear or that there isn’t more work to do.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

REPORT_Template.png

Research

The Sonic blockchain is leveraging redesigned airdrop incentives and its FeeM program to propel DeFi activity and attract institutional capital, setting the stage for ecosystem growth. Within this environment, leading protocols Shadow Exchange and Silo are poised to asymmetrically benefit due to innovative features and favorable valuations, despite facing ecosystem dependency and competitive pressures. This positions them as compelling, potentially shorter-term, investment opportunities contingent on Sonic's sustained success.

article-image

Bitcoin needs a price, but its magic runs deeper

article-image

Circle had a pretty successful first day of trading, but what’s next for the stablecoin issuer?

article-image

Solana’s USDC caught a boost after being paired with the TRUMP memecoin

article-image

The stablecoin issuer’s successful first day of trading is likely to spur more crypto IPOs, industry watchers say

article-image

Job openings rallied and continuing claims stalled ahead of May’s employment report

article-image

A group of Twitch streamers battle for bitcoin. Will their chats help them?