The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will pay $150,000 and revise its record-retention policies to settle a Coinbase-backed Freedom of Information Act lawsuit over communications involving former Chair Gary Gensler. History Associates filed the case in June 2024 on Coinbase’s behalf after the agency withheld records requested from senior SEC officials. The settlement ends the dispute after the agency acknowledged that text messages from Gensler’s government-issued phone were lost through an automated device-wiping process. Paul Grewal disclosed the settlement terms in a Wall Street Journal opinion article published Wednesday.