The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested a 28-day extension to respond to Coinbase's appeal regarding an enforcement action against the cryptocurrency exchange. This extension, which pushes the deadline to March 14, 2025, is seen as a strategic move to allow the newly appointed SEC Chair, Paul Atkins, to take office and potentially alter the agency's approach to ongoing litigation. The SEC's decision comes amid broader scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry, particularly following the establishment of a crypto task force and concurrent legal challenges facing Coinbase and Binance. Legal experts suggest that the SEC is prioritizing cases with imminent court deadlines, which may explain the lack of pause requests in other high-profile cases involving firms like Ripple and Kraken.