Significantly, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to abandon its action against Chicago-based crypto trading company Cumberland DRW. Originally brought in October, the lawsuit claimed Cumberland had been facilitating more than $2 billion in bitcoin transactions while operating as an unlicensed securities dealer.
In a statement on March 4, Cumberland DRW confirmed the ruling, stating that all sides had signed a single file to drop the matter. Although the deal was reached in concept on February 20, the agency still has to finalize approval.
Originally, the SEC had charged the company with purchasing and trading cryptocurrency judged as securities without appropriate registration. Among the assets engaged in these transactions, the lawsuit particularly cited tokens including Solana, Polygon, Cosmos, Algorand, and Filecoin. In its legal action, the SEC aimed at the company with financial fines, profit disbursement, and other regulatory actions.
Today we signed a joint filing to be made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dismissing its case against Cumberland DRW. The filing was agreed in principle between Cumberland DRW and SEC staff on February 20 and is currently pending Commission approval. As a firm…
— Cumberland (@CumberlandSays) March 4, 2025
Cumberland DRW has insisted, meanwhile, that it has regularly behaved in good faith. The company noted that, although it registered as a broker-dealer in 2019, it had five years of continuous talks with authorities before being sued. Cumberland characterized itself as a “target” of the SEC’s enforcement-first approach to crypto regulation, which industry leaders have sharply attacked.
This choice fits the SEC’s previous pattern of pulling legal actions against big cryptocurrency companies back off. The agency ended investigations into businesses including OpenSea, Gemini, and Yuga Labs recently in addition to litigation against Coinbase, Kraken, and ConsenSys. The action points to a possible change in the SEC’s position on bitcoin control, away from strong enforcement to better regulatory conversations.
Emphasizing its ability to collaborate with authorities to create the future of digital finance in the United States, Cumberland said, “We remain committed to fostering an environment where technological innovation and regulatory clarity can coexist.”
Although Cumberland DRW gains success here, the larger crypto sector stays cautious given ongoing legislative uncertainty. Although the SEC’s changing strategy points toward more defined rules, the sector still waits for complete regulatory clarity for digital assets in the United States.
