US SEC Settles Long-Running Crypto Lawsuit: Law360

US SEC and government watchdog Empower Oversight has agreed to settle lawsuit regarding crypto enforcement and conflict of interests.
By Varinder Singh
Updated May 3, 2025
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Highlights

  • U.S. SEC and Empower Oversight agreeing to end the long-running lawsuit created confusion in the crypto market.
  • Empower Oversight President Tristan Leavitt explained the watchdog still seeks answers from the SEC.
  • Empower Oversight seeks records on the SEC v. Ripple litigation.

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled a lawsuit that forced the securities regulator to hand over the documents on potential conflicts of interest in its cryptocurrency enforcement decisions. The government watchdog Empower Oversight president provided explanations for why it agreed to end the suit with the U.S. SEC.

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US SEC and Empower Oversight Settles Lawsuit

Law360 reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Empower Oversight agreed to end the long-running lawsuit this week. This caused confusion in the markets about whether the government watchdog settled with the SEC on conflicts regarding the way enforcement decisions were taken by the regulator against crypto companies.

Empower Oversight President Tristan Leavitt in a post on X said “We at Empower Oversight are definitely not done fighting for answers from the SEC.” He explained resolving only the lawsuit filed against the SEC in May 2023 after receiving all documents, while other lawsuits are still in court.

“Following the production of those documents Empower began settlement talks with the SEC, but which didn’t conclude until we recently reached agreement over attorney’s fees,” said the government watchdog.

Also Read: Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty Hints At SEC Claims During XRP “Settlement Conference”

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Two Open Requests to the SEC

Empower Oversight still has two pending issues with the SEC. First, the new issues from revelations in the documents produced by the SEC. Rather than seeking communications between specific individuals, the new request points to searching for records of interest to the public, such as searching for key words of interest.

Second, Empower Oversight seeks records on the SEC v. Ripple litigation, referral to the SEC OIG regarding managing Hinman’s conflicts, and the first FOIA lawsuit on litigation by former SEC officials.

The watchdog said there are more documents the public deserves to see regarding the issues and how the SEC responded to the crypto conflicts of interest.

Read More: Empower Oversight Sues SEC Over Refusing FOIA Compliance, ETHGate

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Varinder Singh
Varinder has over 10 years of experience and is known as a seasoned leader for his involvement in the fintech sector. With over 5 years dedicated to blockchain, crypto, and Web3 developments, he has experienced two Bitcoin halving events making him key opinion leader in the space. At CoinGape Media, Varinder leads the editorial decisions, spearheading the news team to cover latest updates, markets trends and developments within the crypto industry. The company was recognized as Best Crypto Media Company 2024 for high impact and quality reporting. Being a Master of Technology degree holder, analytics thinker, technology enthusiast, Varinder has shared his knowledge of disruptive technologies in over 5000+ news, articles, and papers.
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