Democratic lawmakers accused SEC Chair Paul Atkins of undermining trust in the regulator and the crypto industry during a hearing. They pointed to the agency’s dismissal of cases against firms like Binance and its pause of a lawsuit against Justin Sun, highlighting connections between these figures and the Trump family’s crypto ventures. As markets lose over $1 trillion, some argue these actions are damaging investor confidence in the sector.
Democratic lawmakers sharply criticized SEC Chair Paul Atkins during a House Financial Services Committee hearing. They accused the regulator of eroding public trust by dismissing crypto cases with ties to President Donald Trump‘s family.
Representative Stephen Lynch stated, “People are losing trust.” He argued this trend is not good for crypto or consumers and damages the SEC‘s reputation.
Lawmakers highlighted the dismissal of the lawsuit against Binance, which played a major role in facilitating the growth of the Trump family’s company, World Liberty Financial. President Trump also pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who had pleaded guilty to money laundering violations.
Representative Maxine Waters questioned Atkins about the SEC‘s decision to pause its lawsuit against Tron founder Justin Sun. The lawsuit had accused Sun of offering unregistered securities and manipulating the price of TRX through wash trading.
The case was paused months after Sun purchased $75 million worth of the Trump family’s WLFI token. Sun, a top holder of Trump’s meme coin, attended a private dinner with the president last spring.
Last week, a woman identifying as Sun’s ex-girlfriend claimed to have substantial evidence of his involvement in insider trading and market manipulation. Sun has denied these allegations, which were reportedly sent to the SEC.
During the hearing, Atkins declined to comment on the Sun case or any other specific investigations. Democrats linked the historic crypto market downturn, with over $1 trillion lost, to a loss of investor faith.
Some pro-Trump crypto influencers have become vocal about potential damage from his crypto ventures. One bemoaned that Trump “literally used his voting base as exit liquidity.”
