Coinbase, the US’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced Friday that it reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which dropped a major lawsuit targeting the company. The SEC had claimed Coinbase acted as an unregistered broker and made billions of dollars without proper registration.
The decision comes after the new Trump administration promised to deregulate digital currencies like bitcoin. Paul Atkins, the newly appointed SEC Chair, is expected to regulate crypto with a lighter touch than his predecessor Gary Gensler under the Biden administration.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong welcomed the move, stating that caving to the SEC’s demands would have “killed the crypto industry in America.” He argued that regulators can’t make up new laws on the spot and must enforce existing ones. The settlement allows Coinbase to avoid potential fines and fees.
Meanwhile, Bybit, a rival cryptocurrency exchange, reported a major hack, where an attacker gained control of an ether wallet and transferred $1.4 billion to an unknown address. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou assured clients that their assets are safe and that the company can cover any losses.
The incident highlights ongoing security risks in the crypto industry, with $2.75 billion stolen from platforms between 2021 and 2024, according to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/21/tech/coinbase-sec-case-update/index.html