The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is dropping its case against crypto exchange Binance, as the agency continues to pull back on enforcement against the digital asset industry under President Trump.
The SEC asked a judge Thursday to dismiss the case, which accused the company and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, of operating an unregistered exchange, artificially inflating its trading volume and misleading investors about its surveillance and controls.
“In the exercise of its discretion and as a policy matter, the Commission believes the dismissal of this Litigation is appropriate,” the agency wrote in a filing.
Binance has had a checkered history with U.S. regulators. Zhao spent four months in prison last year for violating anti-money laundering laws, and his company paid $4 billion to settle a case with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2023.
The exchange has found itself in the news once again in recent weeks, after a Trump family crypto venture announced that its new stablecoin would be used to complete a $2 billion transaction between an Emirati firm and Binance.
Binance and the SEC initially asked the court to put the proceedings on hold in February, shortly after Trump took office and Republican commissioner Mark Uyeda took the reins of the agency as acting chair.
Under Uyeda’s leadership, the SEC quickly shifted its approach to the crypto industry, launching a crypto task force, reexamining Biden-era rules and dismissing cases against crypto firms, such as Coinbase, Kraken, Consensys and Ripple.
He returned to his commissioner role in April once Trump’s pick to lead the agency, Paul Atkins, was sworn in.
The Binance case was one of the final remaining Biden-era crypto lawsuits. The company touted the decision to dismiss the case as a “landmark moment.”
“We’re deeply grateful to Chairman Paul Atkins and the Trump administration for recognizing that innovation can’t thrive under regulation by enforcement,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “The U.S. is back – leading from the front in the future of blockchain.”
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