SEC softened 60% of crypto cases under Trump, NYT reports

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Yaroslav Dmytrenko

16.12.2025

SEC softened 60% of crypto cases under Trump, NYT reports — Trump-era SEC dropped majority of crypto enforcement actions

Under the administration of Donald Trump, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has “softened” its stance on roughly 60% of crypto-related enforcement actions, according to a report by The New York Times.

Since Donald Trump took office as U.S. president in January, the SEC has paused, dropped, or dismissed around 60% of cases involving companies and projects in the cryptocurrency industry, the report said. High-profile cases were cited, including the SEC’s lawsuits against Ripple Labs and Binance. The report added that the regulator “is no longer actively pursuing any cases against firms known for their ties to Trump.”

Against this backdrop, companies linked to the Trump family significantly expanded their involvement in the digital asset industry in 2025. Entities associated with the president or his family are participating in several crypto-related ventures, including World Liberty Financial, the Trump-themed memecoin Official Trump, and a Bitcoin mining business operated by the president’s sons, American Bitcoin.

SEC denies favoritism, cites regulatory normalization

The SEC told the newspaper that political favoritism “has nothing to do” with its crypto enforcement strategy and said decisions to halt investigations or cases were based on legal and policy considerations. The New York Times also noted that it found no evidence Trump pressured the agency to shut down investigations or lawsuits.

“The idea that changes in crypto regulation over the past year are somehow tied to the president’s personal interests rather than the regulator’s prior stance is completely absurd,” said Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, responding to the report. He added that such interpretations unfairly ignore four years of direct regulatory pressure on the crypto industry under the Biden administration.

Paul Atkins, appointed SEC chair by Donald Trump, is expected to remain in his role for many years, while the remaining Democratic SEC commissioner is set to leave the agency within weeks.

Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw has publicly criticized the SEC’s approach to digital assets under the Trump administration. In one of her final public speeches as a commissioner last week, she warned that easing crypto regulation could “lead to a broader spread of crisis across the market.”

As we wrote, SEC rule shift: What it means for crypto ETF market

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