The years-long battle between the cryptocurrency industry and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reached a turning point. Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of the Cardano blockchain, has declared that the “war on digital assets” in the United States is over, marking a significant moment in the sector’s ongoing struggle for regulatory clarity.
In a strongly worded statement on social media, Hoskinson criticized the SEC’s aggressive enforcement actions against crypto firms, alleging that the regulator sought to criminalize the entire industry.
“The SEC goes after our industry, makes us all criminals, brutally sues everyone from the largest firms to the smallest projects, costs the industry hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees, erases hundreds of billions in market caps, then cries foul when the industry strikes back?”
he wrote.
Hoskinson’s remarks follow a major shift in Washington’s regulatory approach. Under former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, the agency launched a sweeping crackdown on cryptocurrency firms, leading to high-profile lawsuits and billions of dollars in market losses.
But with the election of President Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled SEC, enforcement actions against the industry have rapidly diminished. At least ten lawsuits and investigations against firms like Coinbase, Robinhood, and Gemini have been dropped or halted since Trump’s return to office.
The SEC’s retreat has emboldened crypto executives to seek retribution. Billionaire Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have called for the firing of SEC staffers involved in crypto enforcement.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty have urged the industry to boycott law firms that hire former SEC employees who worked on crypto cases.
“Crypto needs rules, not because investors lack protection but because builders and companies lack protection—we need a firewall against federal regulatory attacks,” Cameron Winklevoss wrote on X.
This backlash has had real consequences. Some law firms have reportedly declined to interview former SEC officials due to their involvement in past crypto enforcement actions. One ex-SEC employee, granted anonymity to speak freely, said they were aware of at least one case where a law firm withdrew an offer because of the firm’s work in the crypto industry.
“You’re penalizing people who were basically doing their jobs,”
said William McLucas, a former SEC enforcement director.
Despite these developments, concerns remain within the industry about future regulatory uncertainty. While the SEC’s current leadership under acting Chair Mark Uyeda is expected to be more lenient toward digital assets, some executives fear a potential return to strict enforcement.
“We’re only three years and some change from the next SEC, potentially,”
Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said.
“We not only could swing back to an era of Gensler-like enforcement, it could be even worse.”
Hoskinson, however, made it clear that the industry will not forget the SEC’s past actions.
“We will never forget or forgive as an industry because we know what would have happened if the other side won. They would have danced on the bankrupt graves of all of our projects and used it to gain promotions and higher office,” – he wrote
As crypto firms push for legislative action to limit the SEC’s authority over digital assets, the political battle over the future of cryptocurrency regulation is far from over.
