SEC shifts focus as crypto lawsuits pause and Ripple deadline nears

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is prioritising the pausing of cryptocurrency enforcement cases with imminent deadlines.

Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett suggests this is why lawsuits against Ripple (CRYPTO:XRP) and Kraken have not yet been paused.

Ripple’s next court deadline is April 16, while Kraken’s is March 31.

Coinbase and Binance face deadlines on March 14 and April 14, respectively.

Terrett speculates that SEC leadership may be waiting for the confirmation of Paul Atkins, President Trump’s nominee for SEC chair.

In the meantime, a crypto task force, Congress, and the Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets are expected to address regulatory gaps related to these lawsuits.

Under the Biden administration, the SEC and CFTC launched over 100 lawsuits against crypto firms.

In 2023, the SEC sued Kraken and Coinbase, alleging they operated as unregistered securities brokers and exchanges. The agency also accused Ripple of issuing unregistered securities through its XRP token.

President Trump has pledged to reduce enforcement actions and make the U.S. a leading crypto hub. Kraken resumed staking services for U.S. clients on January 30 after nearly two years.

Meanwhile, the SEC is accelerating the XRP ETF filing process, acknowledging applications from CoinShares, Canary Capital, and WisdomTree.

The SEC has opened a 240-day comment window for these filings, while Brazil’s SEC recently approved the world’s first spot XRP ETF from Hashdex.

Binance and the SEC jointly requested a pause in their lawsuit, influenced by a newly formed task force. Some see this as a shift toward a more crypto-friendly regulatory stance.