The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has acknowledged that some past enforcement actions against cryptocurrency firms lacked clear investor benefit and misinterpreted securities laws. In a statement on its 2025 enforcement results, the agency criticized a prior “bias for volume” and said it is now shifting focus toward cases that provide meaningful investor protection. This reflects a change in approach under new Chair Paul Atkins, who has moved away from the aggressive enforcement posture of the previous administration.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday that some past enforcement actions against cryptocurrency companies lacked clear investor benefit and misinterpreted federal securities laws. The agency stated this reflected a “bias for volume of cases brought versus matters of investor protection.”
It identified 95 actions and $2.3 billion in penalties for “book-and-record violations” since fiscal 2022. “Together with seven crypto firm registration-related and six ‘definition of a dealer’ cases, these cases identified no direct investor harm from those violations, produced no investor benefit or protection,” the SEC said.
This is the latest example of a shift since SEC Chair Paul Atkins assumed leadership in April 2025. His predecessor, former Chair Gary Gensler, had been accused of pursuing regulation by enforcement toward crypto.
Atkins said the agency has ended regulation by enforcement and refocused on its core mission. “We have redirected resources toward the types of misconduct that inflict the greatest harm—particularly fraud, market manipulation, and abuses of trust,” he added.
Consulting firm Cornerstone Research reported enforcement actions against public companies dropped about 30% in fiscal 2025. In total, the SEC obtained orders for monetary relief totaling $17.9 billion from 2025 actions.
Despite the shift, several crypto companies still faced enforcement in 2025. In May, the SEC sued Unicoin and executives for allegedly raising $100 million through misleading investor certificates.
The SEC also filed a civil complaint against Ramil Ventura Palafox, CEO of Praetorian Group International, for an alleged $200 million Ponzi scheme. A parallel criminal case resulted in Palafox receiving a 20-year prison sentence in February.
