Crypto Firms Once Targeted by SEC Now Join Regulatory Conversation

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will host its second major crypto policy roundtable on April 11, this time inviting executives from some of the very firms it had previously sued or investigated—including Coinbase, Uniswap Labs, and Cumberland DRW.

The event, titled “Between a Block and a Hard Place: Tailoring Regulation for Crypto Trading,” is part of the SEC’s “Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity”—a five-part series aimed at refining the agency’s stance on digital asset markets under the Trump administration’s deregulatory push.

From Enforcement Targets to Policy Stakeholders

SEC announces agenda and panelists for roundtable on crypto trading: https://t.co/RDQyWDlE8o pic.twitter.com/T0ifWIRP3a

— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) April 7, 2025

Among the high-profile panelists:

• Katherine Minarik, Chief Legal Officer at Uniswap Labs

• Gregory Tusar, VP of Institutional Products at Coinbase

• Chelsea Pizzola, Associate General Counsel at Cumberland DRW

All three companies were previously targets of SEC enforcement actions during the Biden era—suits and probes that have since been dropped under the current administration.

Other participants include:

• Jon Herrick, NYSE Head of Product

• Austin Reid, Business Lead at FalconX

• Richard Johnson, CEO of Texture Capital

• Christine Parlour, Finance Chair at UC Berkeley

The panel will also include Dave Lauer of We the Investors, Tyler Gellasch of the Healthy Markets Association, and Nicholas Losurdo of Goodwin Procter, who will serve as moderator.

The SEC will be represented by:

• Acting Chair Mark Uyeda

• Crypto Task Force Chief of Staff Richard Gabbert

• Commissioners Caroline Crenshaw and Hester Peirce

From Crackdown to Conversation: A Regulatory Reset in Motion

This roundtable marks a turning point in how the SEC engages with the crypto industry. It reflects a growing emphasis on collaboration over enforcement, particularly after Trump’s executive order directing agencies to review and potentially rescind legacy guidance seen as burdensome to innovation.

Uyeda confirmed on April 5 that he had begun reviewing seven staff-issued crypto statements, including a widely cited 2019 framework that used the Howey test to argue that many crypto tokens were investment contracts.

“The purpose of this review is to identify staff statements that should be modified or rescinded,” Uyeda said, citing guidance from Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk.

Other documents under review include SEC warnings on:

• Bitcoin futures fund risks (May 2021)

• State-chartered banks as crypto custodians (Nov. 2020)

• Disclosure duties amid 2022 crypto bankruptcies

• Examination alerts regarding token sales and investor risks

A Broader Strategy: From Lawsuits to Rules?

The pivot marks a significant departure from the SEC’s prior stance, which relied heavily on post-hoc enforcement and ambiguous rulemaking. Under the new approach, the agency appears more open to structured dialogue, industry input, and tailored frameworks—particularly as it begins to revisit custody rules, tokenization, and DeFi governance in future roundtables.

The first session, held on March 21, focused on the legal status of crypto assets. The remaining discussions will address custody, tokenization, and decentralized finance—areas with high commercial demand but minimal regulatory clarity.

Final Thoughts: Symbolic Shift or Structural Change?

By welcoming back firms it once aggressively targeted, the SEC is signaling a strategic recalibration—one that could have lasting implications for crypto regulation in the U.S.

Whether this shift leads to clear, market-friendly rules or simply temporary deregulation remains to be seen. But for now, the inclusion of industry insiders, skeptics, and reformists at the same table may mark the beginning of a new era—one where the crypto ecosystem helps shape its own regulatory future, rather than just defend itself from it.