The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed to drop its ongoing enforcement case against American Crypto Exchange Kraken, according to a Monday announcement from the company.
SEC sued Kraken in November 2023 and accused the exchange of gathering customer and business funds while operating as an unregistered securities broker, clearing agency and dealer. Instead of settling with SEC, Kraken chose to fight the charges, and a federal judge gave the agency a plausible case and had to go to trial. In pending approval of SEC’s commissioners, Kraken says the charges will be placed “with prejudice, without admission of wrongdoing, no paid sanctions and no changes in our business.”
Kraken’s victory is coming as SEC continues its full -scale retreat from Crypto enforcement cases and investigations that began during former President Gary Gensl’s term of office. The Commission’s new leadership has stated a movement away from the so -called “regulation of enforcement”, which was practiced by Gensler, and has promised to create clear rules for the way for the crypto industry.
“SEC’s decision to reject its lawsuit against us (and many others) is more than just a legal victory-it is a turning point for Krypto’s future in the United States, it ends a wasted, politically motivated campaign, raising uncertainty that stifled innovation and investment and clears the way to a stable, advancing regulatory regime,” Kraken said in a Monday blog.
SEC had previously filed for the court to put its ongoing cases against Binance and the Tron Foundation as well as their affiliated managers and businesses.
Although SEC releases crypto cases like hot potatoes, not all defendants are away from the hook yet. Several larger companies, including Ripple and Cumberland DRW, crypto trading arm from Chicago-based commercial giant DRW, are still locked in legal matches with the regulator. And while many of SEC’s crypto -probes have been closed and will not result in enforcement costs – including probes in OpenSea, Gemini, Robinhood Crypto and Uniswap, others remain in Crypto.com, unchanging and Unicoin stays open.
Read more: When SEC continues its crypto case case, here is still unique here
