SEC Drops Long-Running Lawsuit Against Binance

On May 29, 2025 the Securities and Exchange Commission and Binance jointly moved to dismiss, with prejudice, the SEC's 2023 lawsuit against the exchange and its founder Changpeng Zhao. The original suit had alleged Binance illegally served US customers, inflated trading volumes, commingled customer funds, and traded unregistered securities. Dismissal with prejudice means the SEC cannot refile the same claims.

The move ended one of the SEC's most prominent crypto enforcement actions and came amid a broader retreat from aggressive crypto oversight under the Trump administration, including the disbanding of specialized Justice Department crypto units and a shift toward what officials call 'innovation-friendly' regulation.

Supporters argue the case was legally uncertain and that dropping it removes an obstacle to innovation. Critics note the dismissal followed the administration's deepening financial ties to the crypto industry, including the Trump family's own stablecoin dealings with Binance-linked entities, and say the pattern signals that regulatory restraint tracks political and financial proximity rather than neutral legal assessment.