SEC’s Crenshaw Torches Ripple Settlement—Takes Aim at Trump-Era Crypto Policy
SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw just dropped a regulatory grenade—blasting the Ripple deal as ’weak enforcement’ and skewering the agency’s hands-off approach under Trump. Her dissent reads like a breakup letter to lax oversight.
Wall Street’s favorite punching bag—crypto—gets another black eye as internal SEC fractures go public. Meanwhile, XRP holders shrug and check their portfolios for the 17th time today.
Funny how regulators find their spines only after the bull market exits stage left. Where was this zeal when retail investors were getting rekt?
The SEC’s shifting stance on crypto
Crenshaw’s term as commissioner ended in 2024, but the SEC allows for an 18-month extension after a term expires.
She expressed alarm over what she described as a "programmatic shift" in the SEC’s stance on crypto.
Since President Donald TRUMP returned to office, the agency has dropped multiple crypto cases and signaled a friendlier approach to digital assets.
“[The settlement] subverts the clear and honest application of the facts to the law,” Crenshaw said.
She argued the agency was abandoning wins already achieved in court in exchange for hypothetical future rule changes that remain undefined.
“We are today accepting a diluted settlement that erases the investor protections we already won, based on a non-existent framework that may or may not come to fruition potentially years from now,” she said.
She also warned the MOVE damages the SEC’s credibility, noting its lawyers "are being asked to take legal positions today contrary to the ones taken just months ago.”
Crenshaw has long been a skeptic of crypto and previously dissented against the agency’s January approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. But her latest remarks underscore the growing tension inside the SEC over its direction in a rapidly changing regulatory environment.
XRP, Ripple’s native token, remains one of the largest cryptocurrencies, with a market cap of over $132 billion. It is currently up 6.5% on the day to $2.31, CoinGecko data shows.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
