Ex-SEC Acting Chair Says Agency Dropped Crypto Cases to Avoid Credibility Risks

Former US Securities and Exchange Commission acting chair Mark Uyeda revealed on Wednesday that the SEC abandoned multiple enforcement actions against cryptocurrency companies in early 2025 to prevent damaging the agency's credibility in federal court. Speaking at the Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy's Financial Markets Quality Conference, Uyeda said the commission dropped civil cases filed under the previous administration because it was preparing a sweeping reversal in crypto rulemaking.

"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," Uyeda stated. He added that pursuing those cases while publicly shifting policy would have raised "significant concerns" about the legal basis of earlier enforcement, ultimately undermining the SEC's standing as a regulator.

During Uyeda's tenure as acting chair from January to April 2025, the commission dismissed actions against major crypto firms including Kraken, Ripple Labs, and Coinbase. Critics characterized the dismissals as political payback for the crypto industry's support of President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign. Trump had pledged to fire former SEC Chair Gary Gensler on day one of his presidency; Gensler resigned the day Trump took office.

Since then, current SEC Chair Paul Atkins has been joined by Commissioners Mark Uyeda and Hester Peirce in overseeing the agency's crypto policy shift. Peirce is expected to depart in November, leaving only two of five commissioner seats filled. As of late September 2026, President Trump has not nominated replacements for the vacant seats, raising questions about the commission's near-term capacity to advance its new crypto regulatory framework.