In February, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) began soliciting public input pertaining to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — a move suggesting reform at the agency is imminent.
Since then, the SEC, in line with President Trump, has taken a far less adversarial stance towards the cryptocurrency industry, as evidenced by the appointment of crypto-friendly personnel and the abandonment of numerous lawsuits and investigations into crypto companies. But DOGE has the potential to implement further change, and interest in the SEC signals growing pressure towards regulators to reassess their approach to digital assets.
In response to the request for public input, Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase — one of the companies no longer facing a lawsuit from the SEC — proposed a policy requiring the SEC to reimburse legal costs for companies that successfully challenge enforcement efforts. The motivation for his suggestion is obvious, but the impact of DOGE on crypto will likely be a bit broader.
As Joel Khalili summarized in Wired, the SEC’s recent retreat from lawsuits represents “an early signal of the agency’s intent to work arm in arm with the industry to come up with a set of rules to govern crypto transactions and products.”
As things currently stand, the SEC’s lack of proactive guidance makes it difficult for businesses to plan long-term compliance strategies, and their enforcement actions often come after years of operation, leaving companies and their investors exposed to unforeseen legal risks. Going forward, this will likely change.
Relying on enforcement instead of proactive guidance has forced companies like Coinbase, Ripple, and Celsius to spend millions in litigation to clarify their regulatory standing. But in one case against Debt Box, the SEC admitted to inaccuracies in its statements, leading a court to order the SEC to cover the company’s legal expenses — a preview of Coinbase’s suggestion. The ruling cast doubt on the agency’s credibility and highlighted concerns over its enforcement practices.
In the future, expect to see regulatory agencies – including the SEC – under increased pressure to align with the U.S. Treasury’s approach, which prioritizes clear compliance pathways over reactive enforcement. The Treasury’s digital asset guidelines are far more structured and address key areas like tax reporting, compliance and AML measures. Standardized definitions of what constitutes a security in the crypto space are essential for helping companies structure their products appropriately from the outset.
