SEC pressure on crypto giants fades as Trump-linked project draws $75M from Justin Sun

On Mar. 5, Justin Sun reached a $10 million settlement with the SEC to resolve a civil fraud case that alleged he generated $31 million through wash-trading-style transactions and undisclosed celebrity promotions. The settlement, which requires court approval and includes no admission of wrongdoing, moves the case toward dismissal. The same day, US banking regulators announced that banks won't face additional capital charges for tokenized securities compared to traditional ones. This technology-neutral framing represents another brick removed from crypto's regulatory wall. Sun's settlement lands a year into the President Donald Trump administration's regulatory retrenchment. In May 2025, the SEC dismissed its civil lawsuit against Binance with prejudice. In October 2025, Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who had pleaded guilty in November 2023 to anti-money-laundering and unlicensed money-transmission violations, paid billions in fines, and served four months. Related Reading SEC files dismissal on Binance lawsuit files after two-year securities showdown The filing comes three months after the parties asked for a pause, citing that the SEC Crypto Task Force could impact and facilitate the case resolution. May 29, 2025 · Gino Matos A House Financial Services Democrats letter from January 2026 alleges the SEC has dismissed or closed at least a dozen crypto-related cases since January 2025. The beneficiary isn't only the broader US crypto market. Trump's own crypto network has positioned itself to capture outsized private gains from the distribution channels and business relationships these entrepreneurs control. Timeline shows regulatory enforcement easing coinciding with Trump-linked crypto business milestones from November 2023 through March 2026. The token economics of presidential proximity Within a year, two globally recognizable crypto entrepreneurs saw major US legal constraints ease. Sun's settlement clears a civil fraud case but falls sho...