SEC Chairman Paul Atkins told lawmakers he could not discuss the paused enforcement case against Tron (TRX) founder Justin Sun during a Wednesday oversight hearing but agreed to consider a confidential briefing for members of the House Financial Services Committee on the matter.
What Happened: Sun Case Questioned
Representative Maxine Waters, the committee's top Democrat, pressed Atkins on the agency's decision to effectively shelve its case against Sun and whether his connections to President Donald Trump played a role.
The SEC formally accused Sun in 2023 of inflating TRX trading volume through a wash-trading scheme, alleging his employees carried out more than 600,000 wash trades between two accounts he controlled.
The agency moved to pause the case in court a year ago while considering a potential resolution, but none has been announced. "While you were exploring a potential resolution, Mr. Sun has been busy ingratiating himself within Trump's orbit," Waters said, pointing to Sun's ties to the Trump family's World Liberty Financial Inc.
Asked whether the SEC's fraud focus extends to cryptocurrency markets, Atkins replied: "Whatever involves securities." His agency dropped enforcement matters last year against Binance, Ripple (XRP), Coinbase, Kraken and Robinhood, with new leadership criticizing the prior "regulation-by-enforcement" approach.
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Why It Matters: Regulation Race Heats Up
While Democrats zeroed in on the enforcement pullback, Republicans pushed Atkins on his pledge to deliver clear crypto regulations alongside the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Atkins said the agencies are drafting rules "consistent with what's in the Clarity Act" passed by the House, adding the effort would "help give certainty as to where the jurisdiction of the two agencies are."
The CFTC recently revised a no-action letter clarifying that national trust banks can issue payment stablecoins and expanding eligible tokenized collateral.
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