SEC Drops Lawsuits Against Consensys, Coinbase As Trump-Era Regulatory Shift Gains Momentum

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed to drop its lawsuit against Metamask developer Consensys and also dismissed its case against crypto exchange Coinbase as the Trump-era regulatory shift gathers pace.

Ethereum co-founder and Consensys founder Joseph Lubin said in a Feb. 27 post on X that the SEC has agreed to file a motion that will end its case against Consensys. The conclusion of the litigation is still subject to final approval from the regulator.

Change In SEC Leadership Marks The Beginning Of Regulatory Shift

Consensys lawyer Bill Hughes said in a recent interview that the SEC‘s agreement to drop its enforcement action against the company was fairly straightforward, adding that the regulator’s litigation team “understood that the SEC was going to be moving in a new direction.”

According to Hughes, the SECs decision is due to its change of direction under the pro-crypto Trump administration.

“There was definitely a tenor change in the conversations post-election,” the attorney said.

SEC Brings An End To Coinbase Case

The SECs agreement to drop its case against Consensys comes just a day after the agency filed to dismiss its lawsuit with leading US-based crypto exchange Coinbase.

Feb. 27 filings show that the SEC has voluntarily agreed to dismiss all litigation related to Coinbase and Coinbase Global. According to the filings, the regulator will also withdraw its initial June 2023 lawsuit and its request for interlocutory appeal.

Just filed, SEC v. Coinbase: STIPULATION OF VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL It is hereby stipulated and agreed by and between the parties and/or their respective counsel(s) that the above-captioned action is voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice against the defendant(s)

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) February 27, 2025

Both the Coinbase and Consensys dismissals are the latest in a number of crypto-related cases dropped by the SEC in recent days.

The agency has also dropped lawsuits against decentralized exchange Uniswap, Robinhood Crypto and one of Coinbase‘s rivals, Gemini, which were all hit with lawsuits during the SEC’s regulation-by-enforcement approach under former SEC chair Gary Gensler.

Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda has called for the agency to “rectify its approach and develop crypto policy in a more transparent manner.”