In a sweeping reversal, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially dismissed three high-profile enforcement actions targeting crypto firms Kraken, Consensys Software Inc., and Cumberland DRW LLC.
The Commission filed joint stipulations to dismiss all three cases with prejudice on March 27, meaning they cannot be refiled. The move does not reflect the merits of the SEC’s claims, the agency said in its official statements.
Instead, the Commission is exercising discretion as part of a broader recalibration.
“The Commission’s decision to exercise its discretion… rests on its judgment that the dismissal will facilitate the Commission’s ongoing efforts to reform and renew its regulatory approach to the crypto industry,” the SEC said. “The Commission’s decision to seek dismissal of this Litigation does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s position on any other case.”
Each of the companies had been charged in high-profile enforcement actions over the past year. Kraken was accused in November 2023 of operating an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency. The SEC alleged that the platform’s crypto trading services violated multiple provisions of U.S. securities laws.
Consensys Software Inc. faced similar claims. The SEC filed suit in June 2024, alleging that the firm unlawfully offered and sold securities through its MetaMask Staking service, and acted as an unregistered broker through MetaMask Swaps and Staking.
Cumberland DRW LLC, a proprietary trading firm, was hit with a complaint in October 2024. Regulators claimed the firm had acted as an unregistered dealer, citing more than $2 billion in transactions involving crypto assets the SEC deemed securities.
On March 3, the SEC officially dismissed its civil enforcement action against Kraken — a move widely seen as a turning point in U.S. crypto regulation. The decision follows similar dropped cases involving Coinbase, OpenSea, and Robinhood.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $87,391.03, up 0.7% on the day, according to Kraken’s price feeds.