Ever since Donald Trump took office as US President, it’s been quite a turnaround at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It feels like they’ve been hitting the pause button, settling, or outright dropping lawsuits against key players in the crypto world, one after another. This is a pretty big shift from the previous era under Chair Gary Gensler, where the SEC was known for its tough stance and crackdown on digital assets.

Nick Puckrin, the founder of Coin Bureau, and Hank Huang, CEO of Kronos Research, shared some interesting insights in an interview with BeInCrypto. They pointed to the significant influence the crypto industry had in the recent election, suggesting it played a role in Trump’s win and, consequently, the SEC’s seemingly softer approach to crypto regulation.

The SEC’s New Playbook Under Trump

There’s no denying the SEC’s approach to crypto-related lawsuits has changed gears since Trump came into office. We’re seeing a clear departure from the aggressive enforcement tactics that defined their actions before – it’s like they’ve adopted a whole new playbook.

“When Donald Trump won, the crypto industry basically threw a party! They felt like the days of ‘regulation by enforcement’ – something Gary Gensler’s SEC was famous for – were finally over. And it seems the new administration delivered pretty quickly. Just a couple of weeks into Trump’s presidency, this revamped SEC started dropping lawsuits against crypto companies left, right, and center,” Puckrin explained.

Just recently, about two weeks ago, the SEC officially called it quits on their appeal in the XRP lawsuit against Ripple Labs. That ended a five-year-long legal boxing match! Remember, the SEC had initially accused Ripple of doing an unregistered securities offering worth a whopping $1.3 billion through XRP sales.

“After being in legal limbo for over four years, the SEC has finally said XRP isn’t a security (though, what it actually *is* remains a question mark). This case has been a constant weight on XRP – and it’s a big deal, considering it’s the fourth-largest crypto with a market cap around $130 billion – so this resolution feels like a major victory,” Puckrin added.

The crypto world as a whole cheered the outcome, with many believing it sets a precedent for how digital assets will be classified in the US going forward. And given the SEC’s recent spree of dropping lawsuits, that prediction actually feels pretty spot-on.

Ripple and Coinbase Cases: Major Wins for Crypto?

Interestingly, just before wrapping up the Ripple saga, the SEC also walked away from its legal fight with Coinbase. That case, too, was all about whether Coinbase should be classified as a security exchange.

“The SEC is clearly backing down from its once tough-as-nails stance on crypto, and we see that in their 2025 dismissal of lawsuits against Ripple, Coinbase, and others. This shift, really driven by a crypto-friendly and pro-business Trump administration, seems to point to a future with more streamlined and transparent crypto regulations in the US,” Huang explained to BeInCrypto.

It’s not just Ripple and Coinbase. The SEC has also reportedly dropped several ongoing investigations into other big names like OpenSea, Robinhood, Uniswap Labs, Kraken, and Gemini. They even asked a federal court for a 60-day break in their litigation against Binance. Meanwhile, they also settled their investigation with ConsenSys regarding their Ethereum software products.

All these legal actions seemed to coincide with a wave of crypto-friendly moves aimed at boosting innovation and easing up on the potential regulatory chokehold that many felt had developed during the previous administration.

Can New Leadership Finally Bring Clear Crypto Rules?

Just a day after Trump took office, SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda announced they were setting up a special crypto task force, led by Commissioner Hester Peirce. The buzz is that this task force is meant to finally tackle the long-standing confusion around how digital assets are regulated.

Commissioner Uyeda has reportedly been pushing a strategy in all these SEC crypto lawsuits that prioritizes talking with the industry. The goal is to build regulatory frameworks that strike a balance – encouraging innovation while still protecting investors.

On top of that, Trump made a strategic move by nominating Paul Atkins, someone known to be crypto-curious and in favor of lighter regulation, to take over from Gensler as SEC Chair. And just this week, the Senate Banking Committee took a step forward, voting to advance Atkins’ nomination to a full Senate vote.

“Driven by Republican principles, we could see the SEC under Trump putting clearer crypto guidelines in place by 2025. They might reduce the regulatory red tape and even roll back some of the Biden-era policies that were seen as stifling innovation by 2027. This could be the start of treating most digital assets more like commodities,” Huang predicted.

Now, Atkins is just a stone’s throw away from becoming the SEC Chair, and many expect him to loosen the reins on crypto regulatory oversight.

“With this new Task Force and key appointments like Paul Atkins who are all about fostering innovation, and even Trump’s move to create a Bitcoin reserve within the government, it really signals his commitment to supporting the crypto industry. The future of crypto regulations looks like it will be focused on less heavy-handed oversight, and we’re seeing the beginning of what could be a delicate but promising thawing in the regulatory chill,” Huang added.

While some are hailing Trump’s approach to crypto as a historic win, others are worried that his growing involvement in the space might actually be a recipe for disaster down the line.

The Role of Crypto Donations in Shaping Regulations

A lot of industry leaders really put in the effort to help Trump secure his place as America’s 47th president. You could see this in the millions of dollars in donations pouring in from crypto firms throughout Trump’s campaign.

According to a report by Public Citizen, over $119 million from crypto companies went into influencing the 2024 federal elections. A large chunk of this went through Fairshake, a non-partisan super PAC that supports pro-crypto candidates and opposes those seen as skeptical.

Coinbase and Ripple, among others who stand to gain from a friendlier regulatory environment, directly contributed over half of Fairshake’s funding. The rest mostly came from wealthy crypto executives and venture capitalists. Big contributions included $44 million from the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, $5 million from the Winklevoss twins, and $1 million from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

So far, it looks like big crypto’s spending strategy is paying off, creating a more favorable landscape for them.

“Political donations from the crypto industry during the 2024 election, especially to pro-crypto candidates like Trump, really played a significant role in the SEC’s 2025 decision to drop lawsuits against crypto firms. These contributions helped get the administration on the same page as the industry’s goals and influenced Congress, driving about 50-60% of this shift,” Huang told BeInCrypto.

However, without a clear set of rules to guide the crypto industry after these dropped lawsuits, this more relaxed approach might be short-lived. And in the long run, it could actually hurt the wider adoption of crypto.

Meme Coin Scams: The Dark Side of Deregulation

According to Puckrin, the good news of those dropped lawsuits is a bit overshadowed by the lack of regulations, which has led to a rise in some pretty serious meme coin scams.

“Somehow, all these victories feel a little empty when you see how much the crypto industry’s reputation has been damaged by billions of dollars lost to meme coin scams. And it’s still happening – Hayden Davis, the guy behind the LIBRA fiasco, is still launching dodgy meme tokens, even while being on Interpol’s wanted list,” he pointed out.

A 2024 report from Web3 intelligence platform Merkle Science revealed that meme coin “rug pulls” cost investors over $500 million. And the February LIBRA incident showed that this trend was still going strong in 2025. Nansen data showed that 86% of investors lost a combined $251 million, while the insiders walked away with $180 million in profits.

Even though crypto scammers might face charges for things like wire fraud or money laundering, “rug pulling” itself? It’s technically legal, or more accurately, unregulated. There are no rules holding crypto insiders responsible for meme coin scams.

“As crypto becomes more and more mainstream, we have to protect everyday people from those who want to use it for shady purposes. Education is key, and that’s something we in the industry need to focus on. But stopping scams and exploitative behavior? That’s the job of regulators. And it’s about time they stepped up to the plate,” Puckrin urged in his BeInCrypto interview.

If the SEC doesn’t seize this moment to tackle the consequences of these meme coin scams, it could be a major setback for the entire crypto industry.

Moving Beyond Dropped Lawsuits: The Need for Real Regulation

Puckrin emphasized the urgent need for clearer regulations in crypto by drawing a parallel to how insider trading is dealt with in traditional investing.

“In traditional investing, insider trading is a very serious crime. In the US, it can mean fines up to $5 million for individuals and even prison sentences up to 20 years. Similarly, illegal gambling activities can get you up to five years in prison. Meme coin scammers should face the same level of punishment, because the effect is the same: manipulating markets and cheating unsuspecting investors out of their hard-earned savings,” he argued.

However, Puckrin clarified that it’s not just about punishing the fraudsters. Just like the SEC’s past over-regulation hindered the industry’s growth, the current lack of rules around meme coins is creating an environment where new scams and exploitative schemes can easily thrive.

“Yes, dropping the lawsuits is great news for blockchain innovation, but something needs to take their place – real regulation. Legitimate crypto businesses have never wanted a completely lawless Wild West. What they’re asking for is clarity, rules that actually fit the emerging blockchain industry – not just recycled financial regulations that simply don’t work for crypto,” he explained.

Even though the Trump administration is still relatively new, only four months in, time is ticking. Meaningful change takes time, but there’s a growing urgency.

Big Questions Still Hanging in the Air

Puckrin voiced his concern about the current administration focusing on dropping lawsuits rather than moving quickly to implement comprehensive crypto regulations.

“My worry is that regulators will just keep putting off real crypto regulation, having already won over the industry by dropping those lawsuits that were holding back growth. And that’s incredibly risky,” he warned BeInCrypto.

Meanwhile, there are still crucial questions that only the SEC can answer, and they remain unanswered.

“What exactly are memecoins, and who’s going to make sure we don’t have another LIBRA-style disaster? Are utility altcoins now considered commodities, and if so, will the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) be regulating them? And importantly, what’s going to happen to compensate investors who have lost billions to crypto fraud?” Puckrin concluded, leaving us with some big questions to ponder.

The SEC’s current path could lead to either a regulated crypto renaissance or a breeding ground for future crises. It’s really a fork in the road.

With billions already lost and critical questions still unanswered, the future of crypto really depends on whether the SEC can turn this recent shift into a lasting framework—one that encourages innovation but also makes sure investors are protected. It’s a delicate balance they need to strike.