The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decided to dismiss its nearly two-year-long lawsuit against Coinbase, signaling that the Trump administration may ease regulations on digital assets. Following that, great news also comes for OpenSea as the SEC has decided to drop its investigation right when the platform announced the launch of its token after years of operation.
Coinbase Wins Over SEC: Lawsuit Dismissed, No Fines, No Changes
Coinbase has been fighting a lawsuit from the SEC since 2023. The SEC wanted Coinbase to stop offering certain cryptocurrencies, claiming they were securities (like stocks), but Coinbase disagreed.
After spending lots of money and time, Coinbase has now reached a deal with the SEC to drop the lawsuit entirely. Coinbase won’t have to pay any fines or change how they operate business, expected this deal to be officially approved next week.
Coinbase’s CEO feels proud of this outcome. They believe the SEC was wrong to target them and that giving in could have hurt the whole crypto industry in the U.S. They fought back to protect their customers and the industry, even though many people warned them it would be a tough battle.
Great news!
After years of litigation, millions of your taxpayer dollars spent, and irreparable harm done to the country, we reached an agreement with SEC staff to dismiss their litigation against Coinbase. Once approved by the Commission (which we’re told to expect next week)… pic.twitter.com/IlnoBs7N6n
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) February 21, 2025
Coinbase credits the new Trump administration and the departure of the old SEC head, Gary Gensler, for helping this happen faster and other crypto companies to support the fight.
Looking ahead, Coinbase hopes to work better with the SEC under its new leaders and push for clearer crypto rules in the U.S. They see this as a big win for their mission to give people more financial freedom through cryptocurrency.
After Coinbase, the SEC continues to terminate its investigation with OpenSea
On February 22, Devin Finzer, the founder and CEO of OpenSea, announced that SEC officially concluded its investigation into the NFT marketplace without imposing any enforcement actions.
According to Bloomberg Law, The SEC’s initial investigation into OpenSea was in August 2024, alleging that the platform was operating as an unregistered securities exchange.
However, under the new leadership of SEC Chairman Mark Uyeda and Commissioner Hester Peirce – who heads the SEC’s crypto task force—the agency has shifted its stance. According to a sharing from OpenSea’s CEO, the SEC no longer considers NFTs on the platform to be securities and has decided not to pursue the matter further.
The SEC is closing its investigation into @opensea. This is a win for everyone who is creating and building in our space. Trying to classify NFTs as securities would have been a step backward—one that misinterprets the law and slows innovation.
Every creator, big or small,…
— dfinzer.eth | opensea (@dfinzer) February 21, 2025
OpenSea’s CEO joyfully shared this news on the social media platform X , stating that the SEC’s decision not to impose penalties not only protects NFT artists and creators from unclear regulations but also holds the potential to set an important precedent, helping other NFT platforms avoid similar legal risks.
OpenSea confirms plans to issue $SEA token
Alongside, OpenSea introduces a new token called $SEA, managed by the OpenSea Foundation, aimed at rewarding long-time supporters and loyal users – not just those chasing short-term gains.
They’re also reversing some old policies that didn’t fit the crypto spirit, like bringing back locked items and delisted collections, and dropping unnecessary bans. To kick things off, OS2 will have super low fees: just 0.5% for marketplace fees and 0% for swap fees. The beta version also features an XP points system – one of the mechanisms used to determine the amount of $SEA tokens users may receive in the upcoming airdrop.
In fact, XP points can be earned through listing or bidding on NFTs. The higher the value and popularity of the NFT collections, the more XP users can accumulate. A leaderboard is also provided to track user progress.
A lot is changing at @opensea:
• We’re rolling out OS2 — a brand new OpenSea built from the ground up. NFTs 🤝 tokens.
• $SEA is coming from @openseafdn
• We’re changing policies that didn’t make sense for web3: re-enabling locked items and delisted collections, and removing… https://t.co/RMeu2TQFMC— dfinzer.eth | opensea (@dfinzer) February 13, 2025
However, on February 18, OpenSea temporarily suspends XP rewards for listing and bidding following community backlash, amid concerns that the mechanism encourages wash trading and does not support builders.
Learn more: OpenSea Introduces the Launch of $SEA Token in the Near Future
