SEC May Drop Crypto Lawsuits, Says Former Agency Lawyer John Reed Stark

Stark, who previously led the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement, believes all ongoing investigations—both formal and informal—are likely to stall, including the agency’s long-running case against Ripple XRP $2.66 .

The former attorney stated in a February 18 post on X that he expects the SEC to instruct its trial unit to either pause all crypto-related cases or settle them on terms favorable to the companies involved.

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Recent court decisions align with this possibility. In January, a judge ruled that the SEC’s lawsuit against Coinbase $3.08B must be paused until an appeals court weighs in.

Meanwhile, in February, a judge approved a request from the SEC and Binance $7.22B to delay proceedings for 60 days.

He also expects the legal battle over Ripple to be delayed or withdrawn entirely, though he did not specify a timeline beyond saying it could happen “soon”.

Another sign of shifting priorities at the SEC is the reassignment of Jorge Tenreiro, a lawyer in major crypto cases, to the agency’s information technology division. Along with this, the SEC has reassigned more than 50 lawyers and staff members.

The SEC recently reviewed how cryptocurrency projects were handled in the past. What is the aim of this action? Read the full story.