Trump Administration's SEC Halted Cryptocurrency Lawsuits and Probes - Highlights of the Move
Revitalizing Crypto's Relationship with the SEC
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Trump administration's new crypto task force, led by advocate Hester Peirce, is steadily abandoning its previously hostile stance towards the crypto industry in favor of more cooperative engagements. Below is a rundown of the SEC's significant shifts, reversals, and withdrawals from legal battles with major crypto players thus far in the Trump administration.
Binance
The SEC has decided to withdraw its case against Binance and its founder, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, as well as Binance.US, after a joint stay was requested in February to allow both parties to seek resolution with the aid of the SEC's crypto task force [1]. Zhao has dismissed claims of courting President Trump for a pardon with Binance.US equity.
Crypto rulemaking case
On February 17, the SEC voluntarily dropped an appeal in a case centering around its attempts to extend securities laws to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and users [1]. This decision eliminates the need for DeFi protocols to register with the SEC as securities exchanges, leading to praise from the Blockchain Association CEO [1].
Coinbase
Coinbase had its lawsuit officially dismissed by the SEC in February, ending a case that alleged the platform operated as an unregistered securities exchange [1]. The Commission said that the dismissal would aid its attempts to reform the crypto industry [1].
OpenSea
NFT marketplace OpenSea announced in February that the SEC had ended its investigation into the company, dropping charges that alleged it operated as an unlicensed securities brokerage [1]. OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer stated that this decision was a significant victory for the DeFi space [1].
Robinhood Crypto
An SEC investigation into Robinhood Crypto concluded with no action taken by the regulator [1]. Robinhood's Chief Legal Officer Dan Gallagher declared that the decision marks a return to the rule of law and a commitment to fairness at the SEC [1].
Uniswap Labs
Uniswap Labs reported that the SEC has ended its investigation into the organization without filing any charges [1]. Like other leading crypto companies, Uniswap Labs received a Wells notice in April 2024, which accused the organization of operating as an unregistered securities broker, exchange, and clearing agency [1].
Gemini Trust
The SEC's investigation into Gemini Trust ended without an enforcement action from the Commission last week [1]. Co-founder Cameron Winklevoss acknowledges the milestone but asserts that it does little to offset the harm caused by the agency to the industry and America [1].
Justin Sun/Tron
Similar to Binance, Justin Sun and Tron filed a joint motion with the SEC to suspend their case in the hopes of finding a resolution [1]. The case stems from 2023 allegations of wash trades that led to around $32 million in profits for Sun [1].
Consensys
MetaMask and Linea parent company, Consensys, had its case officially dismissed on March 27, with founder and CEO Joseph Lubin expressing relief at the outcome [1].
Kraken
The SEC agreed to drop its lawsuit against Kraken on March 3, pending commissioner approval [1]. The original suit alleged violations of securities laws regarding the platform's staking-as-a-service system [1]. However, this lawsuit's settlement pales in comparison to the $30 million fine Kraken agreed to pay as a result of a lawsuit settled in February 2023 [1].
Bored Ape Yacht Club (Yuga Labs)
Yuga Labs announced on March 3 that the SEC concluded its investigation into the company [1]. The investigation centered around the company's NFT offerings and the ApeCoin token launch [1]. "NFTs are not securities," the company declared on its platform [1].
Horizen Labs
A representative for Horizen Labs confirmed to Decrypt on March 4 that an investigation into the company, due to its affiliation with the ApeCoin launch, is now over with a recommendation of no enforcement action [1].
Cumberland DRW
Cumberland's case was officially dropped alongside a pair of other crypto cases on March 27 [1]. The Commission brought a suit against Cumberland in October 2024, claiming the firm acted as an unregistered dealer of securities [1].
Ripple
The SEC filed for a $50 million settlement with Ripple Labs in early May, concluding the four-year running lawsuit [1]. The settlement addresses allegations of unregistered sales of securities with XRP, though the SEC had appealed an earlier partial ruling that largely favored Ripple [1].
Crypto.com
Crypto.com filed a lawsuit against the SEC in October 2024 after receiving a Wells notice over potential securities violations [1]. However, the Commission has now ended its investigation into the platform, filing no enforcement action [1].
Immutable
After receiving a Wells notice in October 2024, the Ethereum-based gaming company announced on March 25 that the SEC has concluded its investigation into the firm [1]. The investigation centered on potential securities violations surrounding the sale of IMX tokens in 2021, during which Immutable raised at least $12.5 million [1].
Hawk Tuah Girl (Haliey Welch)
Haliey Welch, better known as the "Hawk Tuah" girl, stated to TMZ that the SEC's investigation into her meme coin debacle is now over [1].
Helium
The SEC dismissed its lawsuit against Nova Labs, the team behind Helium, on January 20, 2025, right before the administration shift to President Donald Trump [1]. Nova Labs agreed to pay a $200,000 fine to settle part of the suit related to claims that Helium misled investors with claims over companies it said was using the network [1].
PayPal
PayPal faced nearly two years of scrutiny over its PYUSD stablecoin but received no action from the SEC [1].
CyberKongz
The SEC dropped its investigation into Ethereum NFT project CyberKongz after nearly two years of communication with the project, the creators stated [1]. The investigation focused on the project's BANANA token and its gaming contract migration in 2021 [1].
In conclusion, the current Trump administration has steered the SEC's crypto policy towards deregulation, clarity, and innovation support. The CLARITY Act, if successfully passed, could significantly transform the U.S. crypto landscape by providing an optimized regulatory framework that attracts institutional investment and fosters a stable environment for major players such as Binance, Coinbase, and OpenSea [4][5].
Sources:[1] Sozanov, M (2025, June 7). Trump-Era SEC crypto pivot: everything you need to know. Decrypt. Retrieved from www.decrypt.co[2] Lattekaye, N (2025, March 2). Everything you need to know about the SEC's crypto pivot under agency chair Hester Peirce. Decrypt. Retrieved from www.decrypt.co[3] Gonzalez, L (2021, June 24). Crypto Companies Face Fresh Scrutiny Under Biden. InsideSources. Retrieved from https://insidesources.com[4] Duffy, J (2025, April 2). Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act Could Energize Blockchain Industry. EY. Retrieved from www.ey.com[5] Roller, C (2025, May 18). Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act hits full House vote. Yahoo Finance. Retrieved from https://finance.yahoo.com[6] Editor's note: This story was originally published on March 2, 2025 and last updated with new details on June 7. A previously included entry on BitClout was removed due to inaccurate reporting. A resolution is still pending as of the latest update.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has withdrawn its case against Binance and its founder, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, as well as Binance.US, after a joint stay was requested.
- The SEC voluntarily dropped an appeal in a case centering around its attempts to extend securities laws to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and users.
- Coinbase had its lawsuit officially dismissed by the SEC, ending a case that alleged the platform operated as an unregistered securities exchange.
- NFT marketplace OpenSea announced that the SEC had ended its investigation into the company, dropping charges that alleged it operated as an unlicensed securities brokerage.
- An SEC investigation into Robinhood Crypto concluded with no action taken by the regulator.
- Uniswap Labs reported that the SEC has ended its investigation into the organization without filing any charges.
- The SEC's investigation into Gemini Trust ended without an enforcement action from the Commission.
- Similar to Binance, Justin Sun and Tron filed a joint motion with the SEC to suspend their case in the hopes of finding a resolution.
- MetaMask and Linea parent company, Consensys, had its case officially dismissed.
- The SEC agreed to drop its lawsuit against Kraken, pending commissioner approval.
- Yuga Labs announced that the SEC concluded its investigation into the company, focusing on the company's NFT offerings and the ApeCoin token launch.
