Overview
- In a Jan. 15 letter, Reps. Maxine Waters, Sean Casten, and Brad Sherman pressed SEC Chair Paul Atkins to restart crypto enforcement and to recommit to the Tron founder case.
- The lawmakers say the SEC has dismissed or closed more than a dozen matters since January 2025, citing actions involving Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and a case against the Zcash Foundation closed this week.
- They allege an appearance of pay-to-play, pointing to crypto industry lobbying and contributions tied to President Donald Trump and associates, including Sun’s investments in Trump-linked World Liberty Financial.
- The SEC sued Justin Sun in 2023 and sought a pause in the case in February to explore a resolution, as Democrats now raise concerns about his reported ties to China and request records on potential political or foreign influence.
- The push comes as a crypto market structure bill stalled after Coinbase withdrew support, the SEC declined comment, and Atkins’s view that most tokens are not securities drew criticism for causing confusion.