March 5 (UPI) — The Trump administration is closing investigations into cryptocurrency marketplaces as President Donald Trump seeks to grow the United States’ footprint in the digital asset space.
Trump has taken several actions meant to signal his deregulation of cryptocurrency while calling for the United States to build a digital stockpile, moves that experts expect may lead consumers to be more comfortable investing in digital assets.
“Certainly at the moment the expectation is we are going to get a clearer regulatory framework. A more permissive regulatory approach,” William Luther, associate professor of economics at Florida Atlantic University, told UPI. “So individuals who may have otherwise been hesitant to purchase or use cryptocurrency will see that the government is more favorable to these assets than it was previously. That will give them a bit more confidence to enter into this space.”
Regulations and enforcement
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped two key cases against cryptocurrency marketplaces since Trump has taken office.
Last week, the SEC agreed to drop charges against Coinbase for allegedly illegally selling securities, according to Coinbase. The company, a cryptocurrency exchange marketplace, said in a statement that it was a case that “should never have been filed in the first place.”
Robinhood Cryptocurrency announced that the SEC was ending its investigation into the company over potential violations of securities law. Like Coinbase, Robinhood said in a statement that the investigation should not have happened.
“Robinhood Crypto always has and will always respect federal securities laws and never allowed transactions in securities,” Dan Gallagher, chief legal, compliance and corporate affairs Officer for Robinhood Markets, said in a statement. “As we explained to the SEC, any case against Robinhood Crypto would have failed.”
Both investigations were launched under the administration of former President Joe Biden, but Luther explains that Trump and Biden’s policies as they relate to cryptocurrency are not all that different.
“It’s not that the prior administration was opposed to crypto to the extreme,” he said. “Even Gary Gensler, when he was at the SEC, wasn’t stamping out cryptocurrencies. He even indicated at times that some of the things that they were trying to do to limit the reach of cryptocurrency, particularly to retail users, wouldn’t apply to assets like Bitcoin, which he described as not being a security.”
Gensler, the chair of the SEC under the Biden administration, was often characterized as aggressive when it came to enforcing regulations on cryptocurrency firms. His focus on the asset was primarily in mitigating fraud and penalizing fraudsters.
Cryptocurrency is the most common form of payment fraudsters are paid with in ransomware attacks, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, an arm of the U.S. Treasury Department.
Trump has nominated Paul Atkins to be the next chair of the SEC. Atkins is a former co-chair at the cryptocurrency advocacy group the Token Alliance.
Embracing crypto
In his remarks from Miami last week, Trump said he is committed to making America the “crypto capital.” His Jan. 23, executive order suggests he is interested in spurring along the adoption of digital assets in the United States and establishing a government stockpile.
Trump has commissioned the establishment of the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, charging it with identifying regulations, proposing regulatory frameworks and evaluating the potential creation of a national digital asset stockpile.
The government has long held cryptocurrencies, at least relative to the history of their existence. It has acquired cryptocurrencies by seizing them through its enforcement efforts, much like it has acquired cash, cars and other goods.
“Make no mistake. The U.S. government owns crypto because that’s what criminals have been using,” Aaron Klein, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told UPI. “Just like the U.S. owns some Ferraris too.”
Biden similarly commissioned research into cryptocurrency, directing the Federal Reserve to explore whether the government should create its own cryptocurrency in 2022.
Months later, the Federal Reserve came back with a recommendation for the government to explore creating a cryptocurrency that it referred to as a digital dollar.
“Innovation is one of the hallmarks of a vibrant financial system and economy,” then-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. “But as we have learned painfully from the past, innovation without appropriately addressing the impact of these developments can result in significant disruptions and harm to the financial system.”
The Trump Administration is not yet following up on this recommendation. In fact it is moving in the opposite direction. As part of Trump’s executive order, he has prohibited the Central Bank or any agency from establishing, issuing or promoting a digital currency in the United States or abroad.
$TRUMP
Hours before taking the oath of office, Trump launched a meme coin called $TRUMP. A meme coin is an often volatile form of cryptocurrency derived from internet memes.
Trump’s coin experienced an almost immediate spike in value after launching but has collapsed since. With its initial spike it was trading as high as $31. The current value is a fraction of a cent, down more than 97% since launching.
First lady Melania Trump also launched a coin just as Trump was taking office. $MELANIA has also plummeted in value since launching. A coin was worth about $2 when it launched and is now worth about $0.85.
The first family’s venture into cryptocurrency as they moved into the White House raises immense ethical concerns, Klein said.
“It’s a five-alarm bell fire,” he said. “There’s massive fraud in the meme coin space. Whatever the actual details of the Trump meme coin turn out to be, giving the appearance of legitimacy of a meme coin to the president-elect gives the impression that he is prioritizing his own wallet over the good of society.”
A chief ethical concern in a president, or president-elect, launching a new business venture is that it creates a conflict of interest. The president is uniquely positioned to have a direct impact on the business they own or are invested in. This is why presidents have historically divested from their business dealings while in office.
Trump has refused to do so. In 2017, again days before taking the oath of office, Trump announced he would not divest from the Trump Organization, a company that holds a majority of his investments and various business ventures.
Argentina is reckoning with an ethics conundrum involving its president and cryptocurrency as well. President Javier Milei has been accused of fraud for allegedly promoting the cryptocurrency $Libra.
Milei argued that he did not endorse or promote $Libra after sharing a link to a website that sells it in February.
“The world wants to invest in Argentina,” Milei said in the post sharing a link the cryptocurrency marketplace.
Following Milei’s alleged endorsement, the value of $Libra grew from a fraction of a cent to nearly $5 before falling. It is valued at a fraction of a cent again. Milei’s political opponents in the Argentine National Congress have called for him to be impeached.
Milei’s actions demonstrate the influence a president can have on the cryptocurrency trade, an influence Trump exercised when launching his meme coin. Likewise his broader embrace of cryptocurrency through policy and public comments signals to consumers that the United States is a crypto-friendly environment.
“When the president of the United States promotes an asset it tends to move the needle for people to buy it,” he said.
Dec. 18 (UPI) — North Korea topped its own world record for cryptocurrency theft with a $2.02 billion haul in 2025, which accounted for about 60% of the world’s $3.4 billion in crypto thefts.
North Korea’s stolen crypto this year totaled $720 million and is 51% more than North Korea’s then-record $1.3 billion take in 2024. It raises to $6.75 billion its total in cryptocurrency thefts in recent years, according to a report released on Thursday by blockchain data provider Chainalysis.
Much of this year’s stolen cryptocurrency occurred when hackers working for North Korea’s hacking team in February pilfered some $1.5 billion worth of mostly ethereum cryptocurrency from Dubai-based exchange Bybit, NBC News reported.
The $1.5 billion Bybit theft set a world record for the most stolen in a single incident.
The North Korean hackers operate from the relative safety of a nation that mostly is closed to the outside world.
“It’s very difficult to stop, because there’s an asymmetry where they’re in general so cut off from the world and such a rogue state,” Matt Pearl, Center for Strategic and International Studies’ director of its Strategic Technologies Program, told NBC News.
North Korean hackers managed to steal more cryptocurrency this year despite carrying out fewer attacks, often with the help of IT workers within cryptocurrency services providers or through the use of impersonation tactics that target crypto executives, Chainalysis reported.
Once the cryptocurrencies are stolen online, North Korea’s hackers prefer to launder the proceeds through money laundering services that use the Chinese language, according to Chainalysis.
They also use bridge services and mixing protocols and take about 45 days to launder their stolen cryptocurrency after a particular theft.
A similar report in October by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said North Korean hackers conducted more than 30 hacking attacks to steal its record $2.02 billion in crypto with three months left in the year.
In addition to the Bybit theft, North Korean hackers also are blamed for stealing $14 million from nine accounts on the WOO X crypto exchange in July and $1.2 million from the blockchain funding site Seedify in September, among many other thefts.
About 40% of the proceeds from the cryptocurrency thefts are used to fund North Korea’s nuclear arms and other weapons development efforts.
The cryptocurrency landscape is at a crossroads, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is making waves with a bold departure from its usual tactics. Instead of relying solely on enforcement, the SEC is actively soliciting insights from the public on how cryptocurrencies should be traded on regulated exchanges. Guided by the vision of SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, this initiative seeks to clarify regulations surrounding digital assets and find that delicate balance between encouraging innovation and safeguarding investor interests. The contributions from individuals and industry players may not just influence policy; they could redefine the entire cryptocurrency regulatory framework in the United States.
This inquiry delves into the complexities of distinguishing between security and non-security cryptocurrencies on national exchanges, a shift from the agency’s historically punitive approach. By inviting dialogue, the SEC aims to cultivate a regulatory environment that truly reflects the unique traits of digital assets while reinforcing essential investor protections. This represents a significant step forward in wrestling with the often opaque and tumultuous world of cryptocurrency regulation.
Commissioner Peirce’s call for feedback opens a channel for industry voices to share their on-the-ground realities and the hurdles they encounter in cryptocurrency trading. Key issues up for discussion include how to navigate risk management for mixed trading pairs, developing tailored protections for investors in the digital realm, and refining the technical requirements for clearing and settlement. By fostering this collaborative atmosphere, the SEC could pave the way for a regulatory framework that resonates more closely with the actual practices in cryptocurrency trading—ultimately benefiting both investors and market participants.
Should this new regulatory approach be implemented thoughtfully, the ramifications could be profound, potentially transforming the very infrastructure of cryptocurrency trading. The establishment of legitimacy could usher in increased institutional investment, as clearer guidelines around custody and security standards surface to protect investors. This clarity is crucial in fostering an ecosystem where cryptocurrencies gain acceptance among traditional financial institutions, steering the sector away from a history marked by enforcement-driven stagnation that has stifled innovation.
Conversations between SEC officials and leaders from the cryptocurrency sphere indicate the urgent need to balance the imperatives of privacy with the demands of regulatory oversight. With blockchain activities expanding at an unprecedented rate, Commissioner Peirce has signaled the necessity for a recalibration in how we surveil financial transactions. As she aptly puts it, there’s a clear challenge: how do we maintain financial privacy while enhancing oversight in an ever-evolving digital landscape? This dialogue underscores the complexities that lie ahead, where the push for tighter regulation must not compromise individual privacy rights.
This inquiry arrives at a time of exponential growth in global cryptocurrency trading volumes, making the SEC’s timing absolutely critical. If the U.S. fails to establish clear regulatory frameworks, it risks trailing behind the rest of the world. The insights gathered during this public feedback period will play a pivotal role in how the U.S. cryptocurrency market navigates the competitive pressures of a global arena. With meaningful contributions from industry stakeholders, the SEC has the chance to formulate rules that not only ensure investor safety but also stimulate creativity and growth in the cryptocurrency sector.
The SEC’s initiative to gather public insights on cryptocurrency trading represents a unique turning point for the entire ecosystem. By fostering open dialogue, there’s potential for the regulatory landscape to evolve into one that champions innovation while fiercely protecting investors. The outcome will depend on the active engagement of diverse voices in the market, ultimately crafting a balanced and robust framework that meets the distinctive challenges posed by cryptocurrency trading. As this critical process unfolds, the onus is on stakeholders to step forward, shaping a future where U.S. cryptocurrency markets can thrive upon a global stage.
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