The U.S. regulatory and political fight over digital assets is pivoting away from Bitcoin. The Securities and Exchange Commission just let an alleged $257 million crypto scammer off the hook permanently.
According to Bitcoin And, the SEC dismissed its case against BitClout founder Nader Al-Naji with prejudice, citing the evolving regulatory landscape. Host David Bennett highlighted the hypocrisy of this retreat while prosecutors continue their case against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm for building a privacy tool. The agency’s selective enforcement reveals where pressure is being relieved.
Simultaneously, the cryptocurrency lobby is reshaping legislative priorities behind closed doors. On TFTC, David Zell detailed how lobbyists for firms like Coinbase and Ripple convinced lawmakers to flip the order of crypto policy goals. Originally, Bitcoin-focused reforms like tax exemptions for small transactions were top of the list. Now, rules for token trading and stablecoins come first.
This means the industry is spending its political capital on structuring the memecoin casino, not on treating Bitcoin as money. Zell noted that while crypto executives voice support for tax reform, they have not actively fought for it, a disconnect evident when Coinbase initially declined to sign a letter supporting a key Bitcoin tax change.
The retreat is two-fold. Regulators are backing off from some high-profile crypto cases under new rules, while the industry’s own advocates are deprioritizing Bitcoin’s monetary use case in favor of commercial token market structure.
David Zell, TFTC:
- The crypto lobby basically came back and said, we think these are all wonderful priorities.
- We'd like them in reverse order, please.
