Key Notes

Key Notes:

The settlement marks a watershed moment in crypto regulation, signaling a shift from an enforcement-focused approach to a collaborative oversight model.The decision creates a ripple effect across industry, with similar outcomes expected for pending cases against Binance and other exchanges.The market responds positively to regulatory clarity, with Bitcoin surging past $99k and total crypto market cap reaching $3.38 trillion.

After more than 18 months of litigation, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will drop the ongoing litigation against Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) next week. On Friday, Coinbase announced that SEC staff had agreed in principle to fully dismiss the case, which began in June 2023.

According to Brian Armstrong, CEO and co-founder of Coinbase, the US SEC intends to make a full dismissal of the litigation with $0 fines and zero changes to the company’s business operations.

“After years of litigation, millions of your taxpayer dollars spent, and irreparable harm done to the country, we reached an agreement with SEC staff to dismiss their litigation against Coinbase. Once approved by the Commission (which we’re told to expect next week) this would be a full dismissal, with $0 in fines paid and zero changes to our business,” Armstrong noted.

Armstrong credited the Trump administration for stopping the crypto regulation through enforcement by the previous regime led by former SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Moreover, the Trump administration has laid several measures to enable a seamless mainstream adoption of digital assets and web3 protocols.

“I have to give credit here to the Trump administration […] I feel confident we would have won this case in the courts either way, given our facts were so strong, but it certainly helped accelerate the process and drive accountability,” Armstrong added.

Forward, Armstrong noted that Coinbase will continue to work closely with the current SEC administration led by Paul Atkins, Mark Uyeda, and Hester Peirce in addition to the D.O.G.E department to enable clear crypto legislation in the near future.

https://t.co/0iY0E7Mc9q pic.twitter.com/hVsGpnpNZd

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) February 21, 2025

The impact of the end of the SEC’s litigation against Coinbase will be far-reaching in the wider cryptocurrency market in the coming years. Already, the US SEC has paused litigation against Binance Holdings for 60 days, with the results expected to be similar to the Coinbase vs SEC case.

Ripple Labs and the XRP community anticipate a similar action to be taken in the ongoing case, especially after a judge ruled the altcoin is not a security if it is traded on crypto exchanges. A similar outcome is also expected in the ongoing litigation against the Kraken exchange, which was filed in 2023.

Following the announcement, Bitcoin BTC $96 656 24h volatility: 1.3% Market cap: $1.92 T Vol. 24h: $17.95 B price rallied over 2 percent to trade above $99k on Friday during the mid-New York session. The wider altcoin market also rallied in tandem, thus pumping the total crypto market cap to about $3.38 trillion at the time of this writing.

Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.

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