Ex-SEC acting chair says crypto cases were dropped to protect agency credibility

Uyeda says dropped crypto cases were a credibility decision

Mark Uyeda, who led the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as acting chair in early 2025, said the agency dropped civil cases against cryptocurrency companies because it was preparing a major change in its rules. Continuing those cases, he said, could have hurt the agency's credibility in court.

Uyeda made the comments on Wednesday during a panel at the Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy's Financial Markets Quality Conference. The SEC is the main US regulator for securities, and its cases against crypto firms have shaped how the industry operates in the country.

What Uyeda said about the cases

According to Uyeda, the SEC was preparing what he described as a "180-degree change" in its rulemaking. He said there had been "significant concerns" that the cases against crypto companies were "justifiable under law."

He explained that he did not want the agency's lawyers to argue one position in court while the commission adopted a very different interpretation.

"I'm not about to have our litigators, even though they're having cases that were authorized under the prior administration, stand up in court and have a commission interpretation be issued that is a 180-degree change from what they'd been arguing for that court," Uyeda said. "I think that hurts [our] credibility as an agency."

Which cases were affected

• Uyeda served as acting SEC chair from January to April 2025, before Paul Atkins was confirmed to lead the agency.
• During that period, the SEC dropped cases against Kraken, Ripple Labs, Coinbase and others.
• Many critics described those dropped cases as payback for the crypto industry's support of President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, according to the report.
• The report states that Trump promised to fire former SEC Chair Gary Gensler "on day one" if elected, and that Gensler resigned the day Trump took office.

What is confirmed

Uyeda's remarks, his role as acting chair from January to April 2025, and the dropping of cases against Kraken, Ripple Labs, Coinbase and others during that period are reported as facts by the source.

Also reported: Uyeda has been an SEC commissioner since 2022 and currently serves alongside Atkins and Commissioner Hester Peirce.

What is still unclear

The source does not list every case that was dropped, and it does not include responses from the companies involved or from the SEC's press office. The claim that the dropped cases were payback is presented in the source as a characterization by critics, not as a confirmed finding. The source also does not say whether Uyeda's stated reason applied to each individual case.

Why it matters for crypto companies

The SEC's decisions on which cases to pursue affect how crypto businesses are treated under US securities law. Uyeda's comments give the agency's own explanation for why a group of high-profile enforcement actions ended, at a time when those decisions drew public criticism.

The agency's leadership is shrinking

Peirce's departure is expected in November, which would leave the SEC with only two of its five leadership members. The source states that Trump has not announced any nominations for potential replacements.

Sources

• Cointelegraph

Read also: SEC's Peirce called for ending the KYC 'panopticon' in her final weeks, Decrypt reports