Crypto Wins Big as SEC Drops Coinbase, Robinhood Cases

The U.S. regulatory landscape for digital assets is shifting at unprecedented speed, with political undertones driving the changes. Within weeks of President Donald Trump’s return to office, two of the SEC’s most high-profile crypto cases have been dropped.

• On February 21, 2025, Coinbase announced that the SEC had officially dismissed its 2023 lawsuit.
• On February 24, 2025, Robinhood Crypto revealed that the SEC closed its investigation into the company without enforcement action.

SEC Remains Silent, But Industry Rejoices

While the SEC has yet to issue an official statement, the news has sent shockwaves of relief through the crypto industry. These developments mark a dramatic reversal from the enforcement-heavy approach of the Biden administration and key anti-crypto congressional leaders.

This shift comes alongside broader structural changes, including:

• The formation of a new Crypto Task Force within the SEC.
• The appointment of pro-crypto leadership at key regulatory agencies.
• Trump’s campaign pledge to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”

Crypto’s Political Investments Pay Off

Beyond regulatory relief, this moment represents the crypto industry’s most significant return on investment in Washington’s political power structure.

• Crypto firms contributed an estimated $100 million in political donations during the 2024 election cycle.
• Nearly half of all corporate money in the election came from crypto-affiliated organizations.

Now, the industry is seeing the benefits of its strategic political alignment with the Trump administration.

From Enforcement to Favoritism?

The SEC’s previous approach under former Chair Gary Gensler was litigation-heavy, aggressively classifying crypto assets as unregistered securities and pursuing lawsuits against:

• Coinbase
• Binance
• Kraken
• Robinhood Crypto

This “regulation by enforcement” approach was widely criticized for stifling innovation and driving crypto businesses offshore.

With Coinbase and Robinhood now in the clear, the big question emerges:

Does this shift represent a long-overdue correction of regulatory overreach,
or is it a political favor to an industry that has invested heavily in reshaping Washington’s stance on crypto?

Regardless of the answer, one thing is clear: Crypto has never had more political leverage than it does right now.