The Great Gensler Unwind: How the SEC Went From Enforcement to 'Our Bad (And Also, Can We Get Our Money Back?)'

The regulatory winds have shifted—like a degens’ portfolio after a memecoin pump and dump. Under the new Trump administration, the SEC—now helmed by crypto-friendly chairman Paul Atkins and a task force led by Hester Peirce, aka the “Crypto Grandma” who keeps bringing snacks to the regulatory table—is officially done playing hardball. The agency is now retreating from nearly all its crypto beefs faster than a whale dumping a bag of DOGE. Here’s the scorecard of surrender, refund requests, and one very confused judge.

Ripple’s four-year legal marathon officially ended in August when both sides dropped their appeals. The case, alleging unregistered securities sales of XRP, began in 2021. After a partial ruling favoring Ripple in 2023 and a subsequent SEC appeal, the parties agreed to a 'negotiated resolution' in early 2025. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called it 'a victory and a long overdue surrender from the SEC.' Translation: the SEC finally admitted they were trying to sue a blockchain with a fax machine.

The SEC moved to dismiss its case against Binance in May 2025. The parties had sought a 60-day pause in February 2025, anticipating the new crypto task force would help resolve the allegations of unregistered securities sales. Binance had previously settled separate money laundering and sanctions cases for $4.3 billion and $2.7 billion. Founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao was pardoned by President Trump in October 2025. CZ’s pardon? More like a government-wide ‘I’m sorry we thought you were a criminal’ NFT.

On February 17, 2025, the SEC voluntarily dropped an appeal in a case where a Texas federal judge called its attempt to extend securities laws to DeFi users unlawful. The decision means DeFi protocols don’t need to register as securities exchanges. Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith labeled it a 'complete and total victory.' In crypto terms, that’s like the SEC handing back the keys to the vault while muttering, “You were right. We were just stressed.”

Coinbase’s lawsuit was dismissed in February 2025. The 2023 suit alleged the exchange operated as an unregistered securities exchange. The SEC stated the dismissal would 'facilitate the Commission’s ongoing efforts to reform and renew its regulatory approach.' Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said, 'a wrong will simply be made right.' Translation: “We’re not apologizing—we’re just returning your money, now please stop sending us memes of Gensler crying in a bunker.”

The SEC closed its investigation into OpenSea in February 2025, dropping charges it operated as an unlicensed securities brokerage. CEO Devin Finzer said trying to classify NFTs as securities 'would have been a step backward.' Which, in crypto years, is like claiming a JPEG of a monkey is a bond. The SEC, apparently, finally remembered it’s not 2017 and NFTs aren’t IPOs with better art.

An investigation into Robinhood Crypto ended in February 2025 with no action. The firm had received a Wells notice in May 2024. Robinhood’s Dan Gallagher said they were 'happy to see a return to the rule of law.' Which, for Robinhood, means they can once again let users trade $APE while their app crashes mid-sell.

Uniswap Labs announced in February 2025 that the SEC ended its investigation without charges. The DeFi protocol had received a Wells notice in April 2024. CEO Hayden Adams called it 'a huge win for DeFi as a whole.' DeFi isn’t dead—it just survived the SEC’s attempt to regulate it like a bank run by a toddler with a spreadsheet.

The SEC’s two-year investigation into Gemini Trust ended in February 2025 with no enforcement. Co-founder Cameron Winklevoss said it 'does little to make up for the damage.' The firm estimated costs in the tens of millions for legal fees. A separate $900 million lawsuit related to Gemini’s lending program was dismissed in January 2026. In other words: they lost money, sleep, and dignity—but at least they didn’t get fined. That’s like winning a lawsuit and still having to pay for therapy.

Justin Sun and Tron filed a joint motion with the SEC in February 2025 to stay their case. Over a year later, a proposed final judgment suggested a $10 million civil penalty, pending a judge's approval. The 2023 case alleged Sun made over 600,000 wash trades. That’s more wash trades than your cousin’s laundry pile after a crypto conference. The SEC’s new stance? “Hey, we’re chill now, but let’s just say… we’re still disappointed.”

Consensys had its case—focused on MetaMask staking—dismissed on March 27, 2025. CEO Joseph Lubin said the firm was now '100% back to building.' Which, in crypto-ese, means they went from “Are we in legal hell?” to “Can we build a staking UI that doesn’t make users cry?”

The SEC agreed to drop its latest lawsuit against Kraken in March 2025. The exchange stated there was 'no admission of wrongdoing, no penalties paid, and no changes to our business.' An earlier 2023 staking case was settled for $30 million. So Kraken paid $30M for the privilege of being told later, “Actually, we were wrong. Sorry.” The SEC’s fiscal policy: spend now, admit later.

Yuga Labs announced on March 3, 2025, that the SEC closed its investigation into the Bored Ape Yacht Club creator and ApeCoin. The company declared, 'NFTs are not securities.' The SEC didn’t respond. But we assume they were busy burning old PowerPoint slides titled “How to Tax a Monkey.”

Horizen Labs confirmed on March 4, 2025, that its investigation related to ApeCoin was closed with no enforcement recommended. So even the SEC’s attempt to chase ApeCoin’s shadow ended in a polite shrug. In crypto, that’s the equivalent of a standing ovation.

Cumberland DRW’s case was dropped on March 27, 2025. The October 2024 suit alleged it acted as an unregistered securities dealer. Which, in layman’s terms, meant they were accused