Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office Considers Scaling Back Cryptocurrency Prosecution with Trump in Office
Cryptocurrency enforcement cases in the United States are expected to decline under the new Donald Trump administration, as the president-elect has promoted a friendlier environment for the asset class.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, New York, is reportedly taking this shift into account and contemplating reducing the prosecution of cryptocurrency-related cases. This was revealed by one of its top prosecutors, according to Reuters.
Scott Hartman, co-chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force at the Manhattan courthouse, stated on Friday during a Practicing Law Institute conference that while cases will not be abandoned, the office plans to allocate fewer resources to policing cryptocurrency crimes compared to prior years.
“Going forward, you won’t see as many cryptocurrency-related matters coming out of, at least, the SDNY,” Hartman remarked at the conference, according to the report.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is renowned for prosecuting high-profile financial crimes involving Wall Street firms and executives, as well as corruption cases against prominent politicians. In recent years, the office has also brought several significant cases against cryptocurrency industry figures, including former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and Celsius founder Alexander Mashinsky. Both companies filed for bankruptcy in 2022, with Bankman-Fried receiving a 25-year prison sentence this year.
Less Hostility with Trump in Power
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for cryptocurrencies, pledging to end the regulatory pressures imposed by the Democratic administration of Joe Biden.
Trump has already named several cryptocurrency advocates as early picks for positions in his administration. Notable figures include RFK Jr., Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Florida lawmaker Matt Gaetz, who is slated to become the U.S. Attorney General.
Last week, Trump selected Jay Clayton, who previously chaired the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during his first term, to head the SDNY.
Clayton led the SEC during the initial coin offering (ICO) boom of 2017–2018, a period marked by high-profile lawsuits against numerous cryptocurrency projects. Toward the end of Clayton’s tenure, the SEC filed charges against Ripple, a case that continued under the leadership of Biden appointee Gary Gensler.
Under Gensler, the SEC has taken a hardline approach toward the cryptocurrency industry, launching lawsuits against major exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken. Gensler’s enforcement actions have earned him a reputation as a hostile figure in the cryptocurrency space.
In his campaign promises, Trump pledged to fire Gensler on his first day in office. While Trump has yet to name a new SEC chairman, it is widely expected that his appointee will share his vision for the cryptocurrency sector, focusing on regulatory clarity and a less combative approach.