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As the SEC Continues Its Crypto Litigation Retreat, Here’s What’s Still Outstanding

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is undertaking a full-scale retreat from much of the major crypto litigation started under former Chair Gary Gensler, but not everyone is off the hook.
At least four lawsuits against crypto companies — Ripple, Kraken, Cumberland DRW and Pulsechain — remain ongoing, and probes into another three firms — Unicoin, Crypto.com and Immutable — have not yet been closed.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, the leader of the agency’s newly-created Crypto Task Force, has already made good on her promise earlier this month to “disentangle” the SEC from various crypto-related litigation. The agency has agreed to drop its cases against Coinbase and ConsenSys, pending commissioner approval, and has put its cases against Binance and Tron on pause as the parties consider a “potential resolution.”
The unprecedented activity level at the SEC as it backs away from crypto actions illustrates «just how beyond the pale the last four years were,» Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal in an interview with CoinDesk. «It is definitely something we’ve never seen before, but I think it’s well warranted.»
Over the past two weeks, a number of companies who previously received Wells notices — essentially a heads-up from the regulator that it intends to file enforcement charges — got word from the SEC that the investigations into them had been closed, and enforcement charges would not be filed against them. That list includes Robinhood Crypto, decentralized protocol Uniswap, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea and crypto exchange Gemini.
The Open Suits
Though the SEC has retreated from its accusations that Coinbase operated as an unregistered securities broker and exchange, similar charges against Kraken have not yet been dropped. The SEC sued Kraken in November 2023, accusing the firm of commingling customer and corporate funds while operating as an unregistered securities broker, clearing agency and dealer. A representative for Kraken did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
Similarly, the SEC sued Cumberland DRW — the crypto trading arm of Chicago-based trading firm DRW — last year for allegedly operating as an unregistered securities dealer. Don Wilson, the founder of DRW, pledged to fight the suit at the time. A representative for DRW declined to comment, telling CoinDesk the firm currently has no updates to share.
Read more: Who’s Afraid of Gary Gensler? Not Don Wilson, the Trader Who Beat the Regulator Once Before
The SEC sued Ripple in 2020 and largely lost in 2023, when a New York judge ruled that XRP, when sold to retail investors, wasn’t a security. The SEC subsequently appealed that ruling. Though both Ripple executives and outside experts have speculated that the agency will drop the appeal, the agency has not yet made any public statement about the case. A representative for Ripple told CoinDesk the company currently has no updates to share.
Rebecca Fike, a Dallas-based partner at law firm Vinson & Elkins and a former SEC enforcement attorney, told CoinDesk she expects the SEC to drop any of its pending cases that are based on using the Howey test to charge a firm with offering unregistered securities, especially where there are no findings of fraud or other investor-protection related issues.
“As for why some have been dropped before others, it could be internal or court based timelines that are setting priorities,” Fike said. “There is also a chance that some crypto-related cases that seem to fit the Howey framework AND that the SEC determines are based squarely in fraud — ie, a promoter or CEO saying one thing but doing another with investor funds — could continue under a traditional fraud framework.”
The SEC brought fraud and registration allegations against Richard Schueler, better known as Richard Heart, Pulsechain, PulseX and Hex in July 2023. There was a hearing on the defendants’ motion to dismiss last October, and the judge overseeing the case dismissed it last Friday, though she gave the SEC 20 days to amend it.
The Open Probes
Several of the SEC’s probes — investigations that have not yet led to filed charges — into crypto companies also remain open.
Crypto.com sued the SEC last October after it received a Wells notice. The firm voluntarily dropped its suit two months later, shortly after CEO Kris Marzalek met with then-President Elect Donald Trump. Crypto.com did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
Australian blockchain gaming and NFT company Immutable also received a Wells notice last year connected to the sale of its IMX token in 2021, and pledged to fight any ensuing enforcement charges. Neither the company nor the SEC has made any public statements about the status of the probe.
Unicoin also received a Wells notice last year informing the firm that the SEC planned to bring charges alleging violations related to fraud, deceptive practices and the offer and sale of unregistered securities. Unicoin did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
Looking forward
The SEC’s retreat, as well as the slashing of its crypto enforcement team, according to Fike, is an indication that the agency is moving away from the so-called “regulation by enforcement” approach to the crypto industry undertaken by former Chair Gensler.
“I think the SEC is signaling through staffing that it means what it is now saying: that crypto regulation will come through statements and potential future rulemaking, not case-by-case enforcement actions,” Fike said. “Their hope, and mine, is that a backing away from calling all crypto securities and assessing the crypto industry as a whole under Commissioner Peirce’s new taskforce, will create some clarity around crypto regulation.”
While the SEC is changing rapidly, not everyone is happy. Gemini president and co-founder Cameron Winkelvoss took to X earlier this week to demand retribution for the time and money the crypto exchange spent defending itself against the SEC’s probe. He suggested that the SEC repay Gemini triple its legal costs and publicly fire all staff involved in the probe.
According to Fike, this is probably a non-starter.
“I can’t imagine the SEC would ever do that. It seems like it would be a difficult precedent to set for it and other agencies who try to regulate in new and emerging markets,” Fike said. “It’s important to note that new financial products can often be a source of fraud, and people/investors can be harmed by them. I do think the SEC was trying to be present and active in a billion-dollar market full of investors who may be fearful of ‘missing out’ but don’t necessarily have the financial or technological savvy to parse through the real crypto opportunities from the potential frauds.»
Fike went on, adding: “Many may disagree with the path they took, and Commissioners Peirce and Uyeda clearly do, but they are also benefitting from some maturation in the crypto universe. I think it is good that the SEC is taking a step back and looking to create a better regulatory structure for crypto and digital assets, but I don’t think that means their earlier efforts were ill-intentioned or deserving of punishment.”
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XLM Sees Heavy Volatility as Institutional Selling Weighs on Price

Stellar’s XLM token endured sharp swings over the past 24 hours, tumbling 3% as institutional selling pressure dominated order books. The asset declined from $0.39 to $0.38 between September 14 at 15:00 and September 15 at 14:00, with trading volumes peaking at 101.32 million—nearly triple its 24-hour average. The heaviest liquidation struck during the morning hours of September 15, when XLM collapsed from $0.395 to $0.376 within two hours, establishing $0.395 as firm resistance while tentative support formed near $0.375.
Despite the broader downtrend, intraday action highlighted moments of resilience. From 13:15 to 14:14 on September 15, XLM staged a brief recovery, jumping from $0.378 to a session high of $0.383 before closing the hour at $0.380. Trading volume surged above 10 million units during this window, with 3.45 million changing hands in a single minute as bulls attempted to push past resistance. While sellers capped momentum, the consolidation zone around $0.380–$0.381 now represents a potential support base.
Market dynamics suggest distribution patterns consistent with institutional profit-taking. The persistent supply overhead has reinforced resistance at $0.395, where repeated rally attempts have failed, while the emergence of support near $0.375 reflects opportunistic buying during liquidation waves. For traders, the $0.375–$0.395 band has become the key battleground that will define near-term direction.
Technical Indicators
- XLM retreated 3% from $0.39 to $0.38 during the previous 24-hours from 14 September 15:00 to 15 September 14:00.
- Trading volume peaked at 101.32 million during the 08:00 hour, nearly triple the 24-hour average of 24.47 million.
- Strong resistance established around $0.395 level during morning selloff.
- Key support emerged near $0.375 where buying interest materialized.
- Price range of $0.019 representing 5% volatility between peak and trough.
- Recovery attempts reached $0.383 by 13:00 before encountering selling pressure.
- Consolidation pattern formed around $0.380-$0.381 zone suggesting new support level.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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HBAR Tumbles 5% as Institutional Investors Trigger Mass Selloff

Hedera Hashgraph’s HBAR token endured steep losses over a volatile 24-hour window between September 14 and 15, falling 5% from $0.24 to $0.23. The token’s trading range expanded by $0.01 — a move often linked to outsized institutional activity — as heavy corporate selling overwhelmed support levels. The sharpest move came between 07:00 and 08:00 UTC on September 15, when concentrated liquidation drove prices lower after days of resistance around $0.24.
Institutional trading volumes surged during the session, with more than 126 million tokens changing hands on the morning of September 15 — nearly three times the norm for corporate flows. Market participants attributed the spike to portfolio rebalancing by large stakeholders, with enterprise adoption jitters and mounting regulatory scrutiny providing the backdrop for the selloff.
Recovery efforts briefly emerged during the final hour of trading, when corporate buyers tested the $0.24 level before retreating. Between 13:32 and 13:35 UTC, one accumulation push saw 2.47 million tokens deployed in an effort to establish a price floor. Still, buying momentum ultimately faltered, with HBAR settling back into support at $0.23.
The turbulence underscores the token’s vulnerability to institutional distribution events. Analysts point to the failed breakout above $0.24 as confirmation of fresh resistance, with $0.23 now serving as the critical support zone. The surge in volume suggests major corporate participants are repositioning ahead of regulatory shifts, leaving HBAR’s near-term outlook dependent on whether enterprise buyers can mount sustained defenses above key support.
Technical Indicators Summary
- Corporate resistance levels crystallized at $0.24 where institutional selling pressure consistently overwhelmed enterprise buying interest across multiple trading sessions.
- Institutional support structures emerged around $0.23 levels where corporate buying programs have systematically absorbed selling pressure from retail and smaller institutional participants.
- The unprecedented trading volume surge to 126.38 million tokens during the 08:00 morning session reflects enterprise-scale distribution strategies that overwhelmed corporate demand across major trading platforms.
- Subsequent institutional momentum proved unsustainable as systematic selling pressure resumed between 13:37-13:44, driving corporate participants back toward $0.23 support zones with sustained volumes exceeding 1 million tokens, indicating ongoing institutional distribution.
- Final trading periods exhibited diminishing corporate activity with zero recorded volume between 13:13-14:14, suggesting institutional participants adopted defensive positioning strategies as HBAR consolidated at $0.23 amid enterprise uncertainty.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
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Dogecoin Inches Closer to Wall Street With First Meme Coin ETF

The first exchange-traded fund (ETF) built around a meme coin could hit the market this week, after multiple delays and much speculation.
The DOGE ETF — formally called the Rex Shares-Osprey Dogecoin ETF (DOJE) — was originally slated to debut last week, alongside a handful of politically themed and crypto-related ETFs. Those included funds tied to Bonk (BONK), XRP, Bitcoin (BTC) and even a Trump-themed fund. But DOJE’s debut never materialized.
Now, Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart believe Wednesday is the most likely launch date, though they caution nothing is certain.
“It’s more likely than not,” Seyffart said. “That seems like the base case.”
Ahead of the introduction of the ETF, DOGE has been among the top performers over the past month, ahead 15% even including a decline of 3.5% over the past 24 horus.
If launched, DOJE would mark a milestone as the first U.S. ETF to focus on a meme coin — cryptocurrencies that generally lack utility or a clear economic purpose. These include tokens like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Bonk, which often surge in popularity thanks to internet culture, celebrity endorsements and speculative trading.
Balchunas described DOJE’s significance in a post on X: “First-ever US ETF to hold something that has no utility on purpose.”
DOJE is not a spot ETF. That means it won’t hold DOGE directly. Instead, the fund will use a Cayman Islands-based subsidiary to gain exposure through futures and other derivatives. This approach sidesteps the need for physical custody of the coin while still offering traders a way to bet on its performance within a traditional brokerage account.
The ETF was approved earlier this month under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which is typically used for mutual funds and diversified ETFs. That sets it apart from the wave of bitcoin ETFs that received green lights under the Securities Act of 1933, a framework used for commodity-based and asset-backed products. In short, DOJE is structured more like a mutual fund than a commodity trust.
More direct exposure may be coming soon. Several firms have filed applications to launch spot DOGE ETFs, which would hold the meme coin itself rather than derivatives. These applications are still under review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has grown more comfortable with crypto ETFs since approving a slate of bitcoin products in early 2024.
The broader crypto market has shown that investor demand can outweigh fundamental critiques. Meme coins have long drawn skepticism for having no underlying value or use case, but that hasn’t kept them from drawing billions in speculative capital.
Seyffart said the ETF market is likely to follow the same path. “There’s going to be a bunch of products like this, whether you love it or need it, they’re going to be coming to market,” he said.
He added that many existing financial products serve no deeper purpose than providing a vehicle for short-term bets. “There’s plenty of products out there that are just being used as gambling or short-term trading,” he said. “So if there’s an audience for this in the crypto world, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this finds an audience in the ETF and TradFi world.”
Whether the DOJE ETF opens the door to more meme coin funds — or just proves the concept is viable — may depend on how the market responds this week. Either way, it signals a new phase in the merging of internet culture and traditional finance.
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