Waters Demands Atkins Explain Why SEC Dropped Major Crypto Cases
Maxine Waters sent a letter to House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill on Sunday demanding a hearing with SEC Chairman.
Quick overview
- Maxine Waters has requested a hearing with SEC Chairman Paul Atkins to address the agency's significant reduction in crypto enforcement cases since Trump took office.
- Waters criticized the SEC for terminating major enforcement actions against companies like Coinbase and Binance, raising concerns about potential political interference.
- She highlighted the SEC's lack of new crypto enforcement actions in 2025 compared to previous years and expressed frustration over the agency's weakened market oversight.
- Waters accused Atkins of politicizing the SEC and emphasized the need for accountability, especially as Democrats may regain control of the House in 2026.
Maxine Waters sent a letter to House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill on Sunday demanding a hearing with SEC Chairman Paul Atkins. The ranking Democrat wants answers about the agency dropping or pausing roughly 60% of its crypto enforcement cases since Trump took office in January.
Waters specifically called out terminated actions against Coinbase, Binance, and Justin Sun. “The SEC has terminated or stayed major enforcement actions against multiple crypto companies and individuals that had been credibly accused of major violations of our securities laws,” she wrote.
The timing’s interesting. Kalshi prediction markets show 75% odds that Democrats retake the House in 2026. If that happens, Waters likely becomes committee chair again with subpoena power. Right now she’s asking nicely. Next year she might not have to.
According to Waters, some companies announced case dismissals before the SEC officially voted on them. She questioned whether Atkins’ office got “unusually active” in negotiating these outcomes. That’s political speak for asking if the chair personally intervened to kill cases.
The numbers back up her complaints. The SEC hasn’t filed a single new crypto enforcement action in 2025. Compare that to Gensler’s tenure when the agency averaged dozens per year. Coinbase’s case ended in February, no fines. Kraken settled in March, also no fines. Binance wrapped up in May. Ripple got its penalty slashed to $125 million in August before appeals got dropped.
Waters compared Atkins’ approach to conditions before the 1929 crash, citing concerns from SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw. She pointed to the agency’s Spring 2025 agenda that proposes reducing registration requirements, loosening disclosure rules, and expanding private market access for retirement accounts.
There’s more than just crypto frustrating Waters. She criticized the SEC for ditching climate disclosure rules despite investor demand. She raised concerns about weakened market surveillance under what she called a “notice-first enforcement approach.” She questioned plans to restructure the Consolidated Audit Trail, which tracks insider trading.
Staffing became another point. Reuters data shows the SEC lost 15% to 19% of full-time employees in key divisions like Enforcement, Trading and Markets, and Corporation Finance since Trump returned. Waters suggested those losses hurt the agency’s ability to police markets effectively.
The letter accused Atkins of politicizing the SEC. “Congress created the SEC to be separate from the White House,” Waters wrote, arguing Atkins presents the agency as an “Administration tool.” She mentioned suspicious trading patterns around Trump’s tariff announcements and Argentina interventions as examples of potential manipulation the SEC should be investigating.
Waters noted Chair Gensler testified before the committee twice in his first year. Atkins hasn’t appeared once despite what she called “rapid, significant, and questionable policy shifts.” That’s the core complaint: the SEC changed course dramatically without explaining why to Congress.
Hill controls the hearing schedule as Republican chair, so there’s no guarantee Atkins shows up voluntarily. But with Democrats potentially flipping the House next year and Waters eyeing the chairmanship, this letter reads like a preview. The crypto industry spent 2025 celebrating regulatory relief. If Waters gets the gavel back, that celebration might be short-lived.
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