The New York Times has published a report alleging that the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed or settled a significant number of cryptocurrency-related legal cases in exchange for political donations and business ties. According to the report, the Trump Administration dismissed 33% of crypto cases initiated during the Biden era, a figure far exceeding the 4% average dismissal rate seen in other industries.
The report claims that out of 14 crypto investigations that were rolled back, more than half of the defendants formed close ties with the administration either before or after their cases were resolved. Specific examples cited include the dismissal of a lawsuit against Coinbase, which backed the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake, and the dismissal of a civil SEC case against Binance. The report further alleges that Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao was pardoned months after the case dismissal, following his assistance to Trump-backed World Liberty Financial in developing a USD-pegged stablecoin.
"I would say that the drastic action happened in the prior years, namely, bringing cases that we didn't have a legal basis for," said SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce, defending the regulatory rollbacks. The allegations have cast scrutiny on the regulatory process and the Trump family's growing involvement in the crypto sector, which reportedly includes BTC mining, DeFi lending, memecoins, and stablecoins. This perceived conflict of interest has already impacted legislative efforts, nearly derailing the stablecoin law (GENIUS Act).
