The US SEC agrees to pay $150,000 to settle the lawsuit over disclosure of Ethereum investigation information and will submit the remaining documents.

Odaily reports that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed to pay $150,000 to resolve the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit concerning its Ethereum investigation records. According to a joint case status report filed on July 22, the SEC and plaintiff History Associates Inc. have reached a settlement and requested the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss the case.

Under the agreement, the SEC will continue to provide the remaining relevant documents and pay a fixed amount to cover the plaintiff's legal costs. The lawsuit was filed by History Associates in June 2024 at the behest of an exchange, requesting the SEC to disclose materials related to its regulatory investigation of Ethereum, including files on the investigations into Zachary Coburn and Enigma MPC, as well as records of regulatory discussions regarding Ethereum's transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS).

Previously, the lawsuit prompted the SEC to deliver thousands of documents. The court also required the SEC to prioritize providing communications that then-Chairman Gary Gensler sent, received, or reviewed during Ethereum's migration from PoW to PoS.

During the case, the SEC became embroiled in controversy for deleting some of Gensler’s text message records. The SEC's Office of Inspector General previously disclosed that the agency had accidentally deleted Gensler’s text messages from October 2022 to September 2023. Subsequent documents showed that the SEC also wiped data from 21 senior officials’ mobile devices.

Exchange CEO Brian Armstrong stated that the incident highlights the issue of transparency among government agencies in the crypto regulatory process and said the related lawsuit aims to promote public access to the basis for regulatory decisions. With the SEC completing the submission of remaining documents, the lawsuit, which has lasted for more than two years, will officially come to an end. (CoinDesk)