SEC Drops Lawsuits Against Kraken, ConsenSys, and Cumberland DRW in Crypto Pivot

In Brief:

The SEC has dismissed enforcement actions against Kraken, ConsenSys, and Cumberland DRW with prejudice.

This marks a broader regulatory shift under the Trump administration, ending several high-profile crypto lawsuits.

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially dropped its lawsuits against Kraken, ConsenSys, and Cumberland DRW, filing joint stipulations that prevent the cases from being refiled. The move finalizes the dismissal of charges against the firms, which previously faced serious allegations under the prior SEC regime.

Kraken had been accused of operating as an unregistered exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency. ConsenSys, the developer behind MetaMask, was targeted for allegedly offering securities through its staking service, while Cumberland DRW was sued for acting as an unregistered dealer in handling over $2 billion in crypto assets.

These dismissals join a wave of case closures by the SEC, including previous actions against Coinbase, Robinhood, Uniswap Labs, OpenSea, and most recently, Crypto.com. The agency now appears to be shifting toward a more cooperative, policy-focused posture.

Acting Chairman Mark T. Uyeda has emphasized the need for transparency and alignment with innovation. Kraken called the dismissal a win against a “politically motivated campaign,” adding that it removes key barriers to their public listing ambitions.

While the SEC clarified these outcomes don’t influence other pending matters, the trend underscores a definitive shift away from aggressive enforcement and toward a more open regulatory dialogue with the crypto industry.

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