Consensys CEO Joe Lubin expects a favorable shift for the crypto industry with the re-election of Donald Trump, anticipating that many SEC cases against crypto companies could be “dismissed or settled.” Lubin spoke at DevCon 2024 in Thailand suggested that Trump’s pro-crypto stance and his promise to oust SEC Chairman Gary Gensler could potentially save the industry millions in legal fees and regulatory setbacks. However, Republicans won’t have a majority in the SEC for a while, and attorneys say a committee vote would be needed to drop the current charges.
Lubin highlighted the Trump transition team’s assertive approach to filling the government with pro-crypto individuals, noting Trump’s keen political sense for responding to the needs of the industry.
The leadership change offers hope for companies like Coinbase, Binance and Ripple, which have faced long-standing SEC cases. These companies have faced strict SEC action as the agency classified many crypto assets as securities. Joe Lubin of Consensys argues that this has slowed growth and innovation in the sector. He believes Consensys’ lawsuit against the SEC earlier this year has drawn attention to what he calls the SEC’s overreach, especially in its attempts to classify Ethereum 2.0 as a security.
Experts weigh in on SEC’s confusing terms
Ripple CTO David Schwartz criticized the SEC for confusing terms around “investment contracts” and clarified that Ripple has legal duties to its shareholders, not XRP holders, emphasizing that XRP prices are not dependent on Ripple’s efforts. Pro-XRP attorney Bill Morgan emphasized that Judge Torres ruled that XRP sales to private holders are not securities under the Howey test.
Attorney Fred Rispoli suggested a settlement is more likely than a dismissal. However, former SEC attorney James Farrell believes there is no chance of dismissing all cases as the SEC plans to continue focusing on the sale of cryptocurrencies on the secondary market despite mounting criticism of the regulatory approach of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
Lubin’s statements reflect broader optimism within the crypto community that a Trump administration will ease regulatory pressure and reform the SEC’s approach, potentially resolving years of disputes that have stifled the industry’s U.S. growth.
This will be interesting to see if regulatory overreach cases are dismissed or resolved in the first 100 days of Trump taking power.
Credit : coinpedia.org
