Relief appears for cryptocurrency businesses as prosecutors signal plans to scale back enforcement following President Donald Trump’s re-election.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan have indicated they will scale back litigation against cryptocurrency companies after securing key convictions, according to Reuters.
The move follows high-profile victories including the conviction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and record settlements with Binance and Terraform Labs since the 2022 crypto crash.
The announcement came shortly after President-elect Donald Trump nominated former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton as the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. This jurisdiction has handled many important cases related to blockchain assets.
Early changes under the Trump administration suggest a potential policy shift long sought by industry executives. Companies like Coinbase and Ripple (XRP) have consistently advocated for clearer compliance guidelines and digital asset rules from agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC itself could face leadership changes, as Trump has suggested new appointments and current chairman Gary Gensler has hinted at early retirement.
Yet the crackdown on digital assets in the United States extends well beyond the SEC’s regulatory arm. Industry commentators like Nic Carter have pointed to whole-of-government collusion to suppress crypto activity and block digital assets from financial services.
Carter’s so-called “Operation Choke Point 2.0” suggests that watchdog agencies like the Treasury Department and the Comptroller of the Currency would also need new perspectives and high-level personnel.
When Carter visited Washington this week to discuss policy, he apparently came away with a sense of hope. His comments on X alluded to the growing bipartisan support for stablecoins.
Similarly, Rebecca Rettig, Polygon’s legal and policy director, noted progress toward favorable U.S. regulations, potentially surpassing those in Europe. Rettig expects stable coin regulation to materialize by 2025, supported by broad consensus in Congress.
In terms of timeline, we can expect stable coin regulation in 2025. There is already substantial consensus within Congress on how to approach this issue, with only a few adjustments likely needed. President Trump discussed creating a crypto council that would bring together industry leaders, law enforcement and policy experts to provide advice on the best path forward on crypto regulation . From this advice, we could see legislation that shapes market structure – similar to the EU’s MiCA framework for centralized entities – or possibly rule-making within regulatory agencies, or even a mix of the two approaches.
Rebecca Rettig, Legal and Policy Director of Polygon
