SEC commissioner pivots agency to drop legacy crypto legal cases
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- The US Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped many crypto cases filed under the previous administration.
- Mark Uyeda said continuing those cases could have damaged the agency’s credibility.
- The SEC is preparing major changes to crypto rulemaking, including an innovation exemption for security tokens.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped many crypto cases filed under the previous administration.
The agency dropped cases in early 2025 while preparing a major shift in crypto rulemaking.
“I’m not about to have our litigators, even though they’re having cases that were authorized under the prior administration, stand up in court and have a commission interpretation be issued that is a 180-degree change from what they’d been arguing for that court,” SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda said during a panel at the Financial Markets Quality Conference.
The SEC dropped cases involving Kraken, Ripple Labs, Coinbase and other cryptocurrency companies.
Uyeda described the SEC’s new innovation exemption framework for security tokens as “a kind of pilot.”
Uyeda served as acting SEC chair from January through April 2025 before Paul Atkins became chair.
The new framework could create opportunities for new market participants and traditional financial firms.
The move marks a shift in the SEC’s approach to crypto enforcement and rulemaking.
