Official announcements from regulatory bodies or major financial news outlets

SEC Drops Investigations into Paxos, Binance BUSD, and Hiro Systems, Signaling Regulatory Shift

Jul 12, 2024, 01:45 PM

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has dropped its investigations into Paxos and Hiro Systems, signaling a significant shift in its approach to regulating the cryptocurrency industry. The SEC's decision follows a series of legal setbacks, including a recent court ruling that BUSD, the stablecoin issued by Paxos, is not a security. This decision has been met with widespread approval within the crypto community, which has criticized the SEC for its aggressive enforcement actions that have caused significant financial and operational damage to compliant companies. The investigation into Hiro Systems, formerly known as Blockstack, which raised $70 million in token sales, has also been terminated. Paxos and Binance were heavily impacted by the forced shutdown of a $20 billion stablecoin, which saw a 99.5% decrease in total value locked. These developments suggest a potential reduction in regulatory pressure on the crypto industry, providing greater clarity and stability for market participants.