SEC Drops Lawsuit Against Kraken, Signaling Shift in US Crypto Regulation

On March 3, Kraken announced that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange. Kraken stated that the dismissal is "with prejudice," meaning no admission of wrongdoing, penalties, or changes to its business operations. The SEC initially sued Kraken in November 2023, alleging it operated as an unregistered broker, dealer, exchange, and clearing agency. This decision follows a trend of the SEC dismissing or rumored to drop lawsuits and investigations against crypto companies initiated under Gary Gensler's leadership, including cases against Coinbase, Consensys, Uniswap, OpenSea, Gemini, and Robinhood. The shift coincides with increasing regulatory clarity in the US, highlighted by a stablecoin bill introduced on February 7 and potential crypto regulation legislation. Furthermore, former US President Donald Trump aims to establish the US as the "world capital of crypto" and plans a crypto strategic reserve including Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana, and Cardano, with a White House Crypto Summit scheduled for March 7.