Regulatory policy softened under the SEC
Over the past four years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has radically changed its attitude towards regulating the cryptocurrency industry. While the Obama administration's SEC actively pursued crypto companies for alleged violations, under Trump the regulator has become much more lenient.
The most high-profile SEC cases closed under Trump:
- The lawsuit against Telegram for the issuance of GRAM tokens. The SEC succeeded in banning the launch of the project in the USA.
- The dispute with Ripple over the sale of XRP tokens, which the SEC considers unregistered securities. The case was closed in 2020.
- The lawsuit against the Kik startup for the sale of Kin tokens, recognized by the SEC as securities. The company lost the case in 2019.
- The investigation against the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange for offering customers the ability to lend against crypto assets. The SEC closed the case in 2021.
Experts associate this change of course with a more lenient approach of the Trump administration towards the cryptocurrency industry. The new SEC leadership under Gary Gensler may restore more stringent oversight of crypto companies.