Coinbase Asks to Allow SEC Workers to Hold Crypto

Coinbase has formally called on US regulators to remove restrictions that prevent SEC employees from trading or using cryptocurrencies that aren’t classified as securities.

In letters sent to SEC Chair Gary Gensler and the US Office of Government Ethics on April 22, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal argued that the policy undermines regulators’ ability to effectively oversee the fast-evolving crypto market.

Grewal emphasized that the timing of the ban is particularly problematic. With President Biden’s executive order mandating federal agencies—including the SEC—to develop comprehensive crypto regulations within 180 days, nearly half of that window has already passed. Yet SEC staff remain barred from firsthand experience with the very technologies they’re expected to regulate.

The appeal marks Coinbase’s latest push for regulatory modernization, as the exchange continues advocating for policies that bridge the gap between innovation and oversight.