FDIC Settles Coinbase FOIA Lawsuit, Pays $188,440 Fees

FDIC pays settlement to end lawsuit

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) agreed to pay $188,440 in legal fees to resolve a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by Coinbase. The settlement was filed in Washington D.C. federal court on 7 February 2026. The payment goes to History Associates Incorporated for attorney fees incurred during the multi-year litigation.

Court ruled agency violated disclosure law

Judge Ana Reyes ruled the FDIC violated federal disclosure law by concealing documents without examining each document individually. The court issued four orders and required six document productions before the agency complied. Reyes warned about the agency's lack of good faith in applying redactions to the requested documents.

Letters ordered banks to halt crypto activities

The FDIC sent letters to nearly two dozen banks in 2022 requesting they pause all cryptocurrency-related activities. The letters stated the agency would notify banks later when supervisory expectations were determined. Banking Dive published the actual letter text in December 2024 after the documents were released through the court-ordered FOIA process.

"The years of litigation were worth it. This confirms that documents telling banks to stay away from cryptocurrencies did indeed exist.", 7 February 2026. — Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer, Coinbase

Multiple regional offices executed same approach

The disclosed letters reveal coordination across FDIC regional offices nationwide. Multiple offices from different parts of the country sent identical guidance to supervised banks. The pattern indicates a centralized policy rather than isolated supervisory actions by individual bank examiners.