Robinhood (HOOD) said the Securities and Exchange Commission ended an investigation into whether the retail trading platform failed to register certain digital assets as securities, another apparent shift by the Trump administration to undo the SEC’s aggressive approach to the crypto industry.
"We applaud the staff’s decision to close this investigation with no action," said Dan Gallagher, the firm’s chief legal, compliance, and corporate affairs officer. The SEC declined to comment.
Robinhood's stock was down roughly 7% in Monday morning trading as other crypto-related stocks also dropped.
The prices of some digital assets have been falling in recent days following news that a crypto derivatives exchange called Bybit had been hacked in what some are calling the largest theft in crypto history.
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The Robinhood announcement is the latest of several SEC retreats claimed by digital asset companies who say they are no longer a regulatory target.
Coinbase (COIN), the largest US cryptocurrency exchange, said Friday that it expects the SEC to drop a lawsuit alleging Coinbase had not properly registered as a securities exchange. And OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer also said on X Friday that the SEC was ending a probe into whether his non-fungible token marketplace offered securities.
The OpenSea platform was hit with an SEC Wells notice in August 2024. Robinhood received its Wells notice in May 2024.
"This is a win for everyone who is creating and building in our space," Finzer said on X Friday evening. The SEC declined to comment on OpenSea’s claim.
Another SEC lawsuit filed against cryptocurrency exchange Binance has also been paused for 60 days.
During the Biden administration, the regulator under the leadership of Gary Gensler clashed with many of the industry’s top companies and figures via lawsuits and enforcement actions, often arguing that securities laws were being violated.
Donald Trump made a number of promises to the industry while campaigning for president and the arrival of a new administration has prompted a lot of new optimism in the crypto world about a new tone at the SEC.
SEC commissioner Hester Peirce told chof360 Finance on Friday that she now hopes to provide "greater clarity" for a crypto industry that long argued Washington, D.C., treated it unfairly and inconsistently.
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Peirce is the new head of a crypto task force formed after the new Trump administration took office. Her appointment was cheered by those in the crypto world, some of whom refer to Peirce as "crypto mom."
"It's a new day for crypto in the United States and it could not have come fast enough,” Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal said, commending Peirce and acting SEC chair Mark Uyeda. Trump’s permanent pick to run the SEC, Paul Atkins, has not yet been confirmed by the Senate.
“They have not wasted any time in turning the page from Gary Gensler's misguided campaign of regulation by enforcement and are moving quickly to get rulemaking going, to reset the dialogue with industry, and to focus on the future,” Grewal added.
Peirce declined to discuss the case or how she might vote, saying, "I can’t speak about ongoing cases."
The price of bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has surged by more than $40,000 following Trump’s November 2024 election victory.
So far, Trump has delivered on some of the promises he made to the industry while campaigning, but other promises and regulatory developments for the crypto world are expected to take more time.
Major questions still remain around whether the Trump administration will deliver a "national digital asset stockpile," which Trump’s AI and crypto czar David Sacks has been directed to evaluate.
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