Democratic lawmakers challenged Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins at a House Financial Services Committee hearing, questioning why crypto enforcement actions have fallen sharply since his appointment under President Donald Trump.
Representative Stephen Lynch said enforcement actions have dropped by 60% since Trump took office and cited the SEC’s motion to dismiss its lawsuit against Binance in May 2025 as evidence of a broader retreat.
“This is hurting the crypto industry, all these scams. Look at crypto today. I think it's down 25% in the last month. People are losing trust, and it’s not good for crypto. It's certainly not good for consumers, and it's awful the reputational damage that the SEC is suffering,”
Said Representative Stephen Lynch.
Atkins defended the agency’s record, telling lawmakers, “We have a very robust enforcement effort, and we are bringing cases,” amid concerns that the regulatory stance has shifted in favour of the digital asset sector.
California Representative Maxine Waters argued that dismissed cases came despite the SEC winning in court and suggested that industry executives who benefited from pardons and dropped lawsuits had given “millions of dollars” to Trump and his family, and following the announcement the Coinbase share price was unchanged at $XX.
Lawmakers also raised concerns over foreign investment in World Liberty Financial, a decentralised finance platform linked to the Trump family, including reports that Abu Dhabi-backed Aryam Investment 1 acquired a 49% stake in the startup behind the project.
The hearing revived broader Democratic criticism of Trump family crypto ventures and signalled potential resistance to market structure legislation in a midterm election year if control of at least one chamber of Congress changes hands.