Crypto.com confirmed today (Friday) that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially closed its investigation into the crypto exchange and decided not to file any enforcement action.
SEC Ends Its Crypto Chase
The regulator's latest decision came after it sent a Wells Notice to Crypto.com in August 2024. A Wells Notice is preliminary and only informs a company about the regulator's findings, which might lead to enforcement actions.
“Under the previous administration, the SEC weaponised and attempted to expand its congressionally granted power in order to harm an industry that its former chair disfavoured,” Nick Lundgren, Chief Legal Officer of Crypto.com, noted in a statement.
“It is unfortunate that we were forced to endure this years-long investigation and file our own suit against the SEC to protect the rule of law,” he added.
No Need to Pursue a Countersuit
Interestingly, Crypto.com sued the US regulator in October last year after receiving the Wells Notice, alleging that the regulator overstepped its statutory authority by attempting to regulate tokens as securities. The company argued that the SEC's approach constituted unauthorised rulemaking and regulation by enforcement, which could negatively impact the crypto industry in the United States.
However, the crypto company withdrew its lawsuit against the US regulator in December following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election. President Trump has already nominated Paul Atkins as the new SEC Chair, who has a net worth of over $328 million, including up to $6 million in crypto-related assets.
“Compliance and integrity are core to Crypto.com’s business, and we are excited to work with soon-to-be-confirmed Chair Atkins and the rest of the Commission on our long-awaited desire for legislation and rulemaking,” Lundgren added.
The SEC’s decision to officially end its probe into Crypto.com was unsurprising. The regulator previously dropped its lawsuits against Kraken, Coinbase, and Ripple Labs, along with investigations into companies like Gemini. Under the temporary leadership of Mark Uyeda, the regulator also significantly scaled down its crypto enforcement team.
