[US FDIC Agrees to Pay Fees to Coinbase and Commits to Policy Reforms] According to Foresight News, citing Decrypt, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) agreed in a joint progress report submitted to the federal court in Washington, D.C., on Friday to fully cover approximately $180,000 in legal fees incurred by History Associates Incorporated (a research institution commissioned by Coinbase to submit record requests). The FDIC also agreed to drop its confidentiality defense regarding cryptocurrency-related 'cease-and-desist letters,' thereby concluding the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit related to the 'Operation Choke Point 2.0' banking de-risking strategy. Additionally, the FDIC committed to policy reforms, including adding provisions to training materials requiring employees to 'broadly interpret' FOIA requests and stating that it will not adopt a blanket confidentiality policy for all bank regulatory documents under FOIA Exemption 8. Foresight News previously reported, citing Cointelegraph, that Coinbase is urging U.S. regulators to confirm that banks are free to provide services to crypto companies. Today, Coinbase sent letters to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve Board, and the FDIC, requesting clarity reports on the status of banking services for the crypto industry.