The SEC under the Trump administration is shifting towards a more crypto-friendly approach, led by Chairman Paul Atkins and a crypto task force headed by Hester Peirce. This change has resulted in the SEC backing away from fights with top crypto companies, including Ripple Labs.

Ripple Labs and the SEC have officially ended their four-year legal battle, dropping their appeals in August. The case, centered around allegations of unregistered securities sales with XRP, saw a partial ruling in Ripple’s favor in 2023 before appeals were later filed and ultimately dropped.

After multiple legal appeals and denials, Ripple and the SEC agreed to drop their cross-appeals in June, finalizing the case in August. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called it a “long overdue surrender from the SEC.”

The SEC submitted a filing on May 29 to dismiss its ongoing case against Binance, alleging the unregistered sale of securities. This move comes after the establishment of a crypto task force, with parties seeking a joint stay to resolve the case.

Binance has faced various compliance issues dating back to 2023, leading to separate settlements totaling $4.3 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively. Trump’s pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao follows the SEC’s dismissal of the case against the exchange. President Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao in October. The SEC voluntarily dropped an appeal regarding extending securities laws to DeFi applications, citing unlawful expanded definitions. The dropped appeal means DeFi protocols don’t need to register with the SEC, a victory according to Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith.

Coinbase had its lawsuit dismissed by the SEC in February, filed in 2023, alleging unregistered securities exchange operation. The SEC stated the dismissal will aid in reforming its regulatory approach to the crypto industry. The SEC ended its investigation into NFT marketplace OpenSea in February, dropping charges of unlicensed securities brokerage.

Robinhood’s SEC investigation ended with no action, with the platform claiming any case would have failed. Uniswap Labs announced the SEC ended its investigation without filing charges, following a Wells notice in April 2024. Uniswap Labs CEO Hayden Adams criticized the SEC for arbitrary enforcement tactics. The SEC ended a two-year investigation into Gemini Trust without enforcement action. Cameron Winklevoss noted the milestone but expressed frustration over legal fees and lost productivity. Gemini and the SEC agreed to a 60-day stay on a $900 million lawsuit. Justin Sun and Tron also filed to stay the case.

Consensys had its case dismissed on March 27, focusing on staking features in MetaMask. The SEC plans to end the lawsuit against Consensys, with founder Joseph Lubin welcoming the outcome. Kraken confirmed the SEC will drop its latest lawsuit, pending commissioner approval, over staking-as-a-service violations.

The SEC closed its investigation into Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs, a huge win for the NFT sector. The investigation scrutinized NFT offerings and the ApeCoin token launch. Yuga Labs hailed the decision as a win for NFT creators and the ecosystem. Horizen Labs also confirmed the SEC ended its investigation with no enforcement action recommendation. Market maker Cumberland’s case was also officially dropped. The SEC sued Cumberland in October 2024 for allegedly acting as an unregistered dealer of securities. However, the firm announced that the SEC plans to drop the lawsuit. Crypto.com also faced a lawsuit from the SEC but the Commission has ended its investigation with no enforcement action.

The SEC concluded its investigation into the Ethereum-based gaming company Immutable after receiving a Wells notice in October 2024. The investigation focused on potential securities violations related to the sale of IMX tokens in 2021, raising at least $12.5 million. Immutable celebrated the closure of the inquiry with no findings of wrongdoing.

The SEC dropped the investigation into the Solana meme coin debacle involving Haliey Welch, known as the “Hawk Tuah” girl. Welch confirmed that the SEC’s probe into the meme coin is now over, concluding months of cooperation with authorities and attorneys.

The SEC dismissed its lawsuit against Nova Labs, the team behind Helium, a Solana-based wireless connectivity network. The lawsuit was one of Gary Gensler’s final acts before the administration shift to President Donald Trump. Nova Labs agreed to pay a $200,000 fine to settle part of the suit.

PayPal faced scrutiny over its PYUSD stablecoin for almost two years, but the SEC took no action against the payments giant. The SEC sent a subpoena to PayPal in November 2023 seeking documents related to PYUSD, but the investigation was ended in February, according to an April filing from PayPal.

The SEC dropped its investigation into the Ethereum NFT project CyberKongz after nearly two years of communication with the project. The creators of CyberKongz announced that the SEC has ended its investigation after receiving a Wells notice from the regulator in December. The SEC ended a four-year investigation into the decentralized crypto lending protocol Aave with no enforcement action. Aave was one of several DeFi protocols scrutinized by the Commission in recent years. CEO Stani Kulechov expressed relief and optimism for DeFi’s future in light of the investigation’s conclusion.

Tokenization firm Ondo Finance received notice that the SEC had closed a multi-year investigation in December. The probe focused on whether the firm’s tokenization of real-world assets complied with securities laws and if the ONDO token was a security. Ondo emphasized its commitment to innovation, compliance, and investor protection.

After years of legal battles and scrutiny, the project involving the BANANA token and gaming contract migration announced its freedom from allegations and litigation. The investigation, which had been ongoing, concluded with no action taken. The project expressed relief and gratitude for the resolution. 1. The CDC announced new guidelines for fully vaccinated individuals, stating they can gather indoors without masks. The guidelines also allow vaccinated people to visit with unvaccinated individuals from one household without masks, as long as the unvaccinated individuals are at low risk for severe illness.

2. Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by the FDA. The vaccine is a single-dose shot and has been shown to be effective in preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death from the virus. It is the third vaccine to receive emergency use authorization in the US.

3. The Senate passed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, which includes direct payments of $1,400 to most Americans. The bill also extends unemployment benefits, provides funding for vaccine distribution and testing, and includes aid for state and local governments. President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law.

4. The United States reached a milestone of administering 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses. President Biden set a goal of reaching this milestone within his first 100 days in office, which the country achieved in just 58 days. The vaccination effort continues to ramp up across the country.

5. Moderna announced that its COVID-19 vaccine remains effective against new variants of the virus, including the strains first identified in the UK and South Africa. The company is also working on a booster shot to increase protection against emerging variants. The vaccine has shown to be 94.1% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: The Biggest Crypto Cases Dumped by Trump’s SEC