Consulting company Cornerstone Research reported a significant drop in the number of enforcement actions implemented by the current leadership of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, compared to that under the previous administration.
In a report released on Wednesday, Cornerstone reported that, under SEC Chair Paul Atkins, the number of enforcement actions against public companies and their subsidiaries decreased by about 30% in fiscal year 2025 compared to those in fiscal year 2024.
The company said the data was “consistent with the general pattern for other fiscal years when the SEC administration changed,” referring to former Chair Gary Gensler.
SEC enforcement actions from FY 2016 to FY 2025. Source: Cornerstone
Although the financial regulator dropped investigations and lawsuits against several crypto companies following Gensler’s departure, the report only referenced the SEC’s case against Coinbase, dropped in February.
Earlier this week, the SEC’s Division of Examinations released its examination priorities for the fiscal year through 2026, not mentioning cryptocurrencies or digital assets.
“The dismissal is consistent with the stated priorities of the current SEC administration,” said Cornerstone. “Chair Atkins has signaled that a ‘top priority’ of his administration will be ‘to provide a firm regulatory foundation for digital assets through a rational, coherent, and principled approach.’”
Related: Crypto class actions on pace to nearly double in 2025
The SEC operated with limited staff for 43 days amid a US government shutdown that ended last week, curtailing its enforcement and oversight capabilities. Following its return to normal operations, the agency released its examination priorities for 2026 and continued reviewing applications for initial public offerings, exchange-traded funds, and other matters within its purview.
Awaiting market structure bill in Congress
As of Tuesday, Republican leaders on the Senate Banking Committee expected to pass a comprehensive bill on digital asset market structure by early 2026.
The initial timeline, anticipating the legislation being signed into law before the end of the year, was delayed by the government shutdown and pushback from Senate Democrats on DeFi provisions.
If passed, the law could grant the Commodity Futures Trading Commission significant authority to regulate digital assets. Atkins said that, under the SEC’s potential authority, it would not be “lax” on enforcement, likely including cases involving crypto.
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