SEC lawsuits and investigations against crypto firms persist

At least four lawsuits by the SEC against crypto companies remain active, and investigations into three firms are still open. That is according to CoinDesk.

In the first category are Ripple, Kraken, Cumberland DRW and Pulsechain; in the second — Unicoin, Crypto.com and Immutable.

Heading the SEC’s dedicated “crypto group” since February, Hester Peirce has begun delivering on one of the promises to review proceedings initiated under former chair Gary Gensler, but the docket has yet to be cleared.

By March the agency had dropped cases against Coinbase and ConsenSys, and paused proceedings against Binance and Tron while the parties consider a “potential resolution”.

“The SEC’s unprecedented activity illustrates how unorthodox the past four years have been. This is definitely something we have never seen before,” commented Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal.

Over the past two weeks, several companies that had previously received a Wells notice were told by the regulator that it was being withdrawn. They include Robinhood Crypto, Uniswap, OpenSea and Gemini.

Open cases

The regulator still has questions for Cumberland DRW. The agency has accused the trading firm of acting as an unregistered securities dealer.

The case against Ripple remains open. Previously, the company’s top management and outside experts expressed confidence that the SEC would forgo an appeal. As of now, the Commission has made no public statements.

Rebecca Fike, a partner at Vinson & Elkins, predicted the agency will end all cases that rely on the Howey test to accuse a company of offering unregistered securities.

“There is a possibility that some cases in this category are based directly on fraud. […] The SEC may continue to pursue them with a focus on that aspect,” she noted.

In July 2023 the agency brought charges against Richard Schueler, better known as Richard Heart, Pulsechain, PulseX and Hex. In October 2024 a hearing was held on the defendants’ motion to dismiss. On 28 February 2025 the judge denied it, while giving the SEC 20 days to amend.

Ongoing investigations

Several investigations also remain open and have not yet led to charges.

Crypto.com sued the SEC in October 2024 after receiving a Wells notice. The exchange withdrew it two months later, shortly after CEO Kris Marszalek met U.S. President Donald Trump.

Last year Immutable and Unicoin also received notices.

Outlook

Fike of Vinson & Elkins believes the SEC is drifting away from the Gensler-era strategy of regulation by enforcement.

“Oversight will proceed via statements and potential future rulemaking. This will create legal certainty in the crypto industry,” she explained.

In March the Senate will consider overturning Biden-era the rules of the IRS as applied to DeFi services, and the CFPB rules regarding digital payments.

The former requires decentralised-finance projects to disclose tax information. The latter increases the degree of oversight for big technology firms that offer digital wallets and payment apps.

In February, Trump nominated Jonathan Gould to head the OCC at the U.S. Treasury. According to Ron Hammond of the Blockchain Association, if confirmed the agency would simplify the creation of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.

Earlier, the U.S. president officially put forward Paul Atkins for the post of SEC chair, noting his expertise in digital assets.