The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly focusing on delaying cryptocurrency enforcement cases with approaching deadlines, according to Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett. This approach is said to be a key reason why the regulator has yet to pause its ongoing lawsuits against Ripple and Kraken.
SEC Turning Crypto Friendly?
Terrett stated in a February 19 post on X that Ripple’s next court deadline is on April 16, while Kraken must respond by March 31. “It’s possible SEC leadership is expecting Donald Trump’s pick for chair Paul Atkins to be on his way to getting confirmed by that time,” she said, citing unnamed sources.
Other major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance and Coinbase, also face upcoming legal deadlines, but theirs are set for April 14 and March 14, respectively.
The SEC has taken an aggressive stance against Web3 firms in recent years, filing over 100 lawsuits for alleged violations under President Joe Biden’s administration. In 2023, the regulator sued Kraken, accusing the platform of acting as an unregistered securities broker. The agency also filed a case against Coinbase, alleging the exchange had not registered as a broker, clearing agency, or national securities exchange.
🚨NEW: On the @SECGov pausing ongoing litigation against #crypto firms — I’m told by multiple legal sources that the SEC has been prioritizing cases with imminent court deadlines, which is one explanation for why we haven’t seen pause requests in the @Ripple and @krakenfx cases.…
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) February 19, 2025
Both firms were previously targeted by the SEC for offering crypto staking services in the U.S. Ripple, meanwhile, has been engaged in a legal battle with the SEC since 2020 over claims that its XRP token was issued as an unregistered security.
The Trump Saga
With Donald Trump now in his second presidential term, the administration has signaled a shift toward a more crypto-friendly regulatory approach. Trump has pledged to reduce enforcement actions against cryptocurrency firms and position the U.S. as a global leader in the industry.
As part of this shift, Trump has nominated former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to lead the agency. The SEC has been gradually pausing or scaling back its legal actions against crypto firms. “In the interim, the crypto task force, Congress and the Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets are presumably working to fill the regulatory gaps that led to these lawsuits being brought in the first place,” Terrett noted.
On Jan. 30, just ten days after Trump assumed office for a second term, Kraken reinstated staking services for U.S. customers—a move that suggests changes in regulatory enforcement policies may already be underway.
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