SEC Drops Crypto Cases, Ripple's Fate Unclear

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently made significant moves in its crypto-related cases, dismissing lawsuits and dropping investigations. On February 27, the SEC commissioners approved the dismissal of Coinbase's lawsuit, which was dismissed 'with prejudice,' meaning it cannot be brought back by a new administration. This decision was not surprising, as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong had hinted at the likely outcome last week.

The SEC has also dismissed or dropped crypto lawsuits against OpenSea, Robinhood, Uniswap, Gemini, and Coinbase during the Trump era. Additionally, the agency has paused lawsuits against Binance, Justin Sun, and the TRON Foundation this month. However, the Ripple lawsuit remains in limbo, raising questions about its future.

The SEC had previously claimed that the Ethereum-based wallet MetaMask offered unregistered securities and operated as an unregistered broker-dealer. However, the agency dropped the MetaMask case on Thursday, pending commissioners' approval. Joseph Lubin, CEO of ConsenSys, the firm behind MetaMask, expressed satisfaction with the agreement to dismiss the case.

Crypto lawyer Jeremy Hogan has stated that the Ripple lawsuit is more complicated than other cases because it has advanced to judgment and appeal stages. Ripple's leadership, however, remains hopeful that the case will be resolved in 2025. In late January, Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty expressed cautious optimism that the new SEC would understand the complexities of the case and potentially withdraw it voluntarily during the year.

The SEC's recent actions have raised questions about the future of crypto regulation in the United States. As the agency continues to review and dismiss cases, the crypto industry awaits further developments in the Ripple lawsuit and other ongoing investigations.