The lawsuit that 18 state attorneys general and the DeFi Education Fund filed against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received a 60-day stay from a Kentucky federal judge.
The legal proceeding initiated by the SEC in November 2023 faces a 60-day pause because it accused the SEC of exercising unauthorized oversight against cryptocurrency exchanges through enforcement measures. Plaintiffs maintain that former SEC Chair Gary Gensler led the regulator to exceed its authority when it acted unilaterally without receiving congressional approval.
On April 16, 2025, Kentucky District Court Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove imposed a stay following joint agreements from the plaintiffs and the SEC that new leadership at the agency might solve their dispute. The SEC presented a mid-March notice that suggested that leadership changes would make the legal dispute irrelevant. The judge required participating parties to file one joint status report before 30 days expired.
Paul Atkins stepped into the office early this month because he assumed the SEC chair position following his appointment as Wall Street’s new chief. Atkins inherited the SEC leadership from Mark Uyeda after Gary Gensler, who focused on strengthening crypto industry monitoring during his time in charge.
Republican state attorneys general from Kentucky and other states, including Florida and Texas, together with Ohio, have filed a legal challenge against the SEC‘s crypto exchange regulation methods, which attempt to claim federal authority through state-regulated areas. The plaintiffs argue the SEC oversteps federalism limits because its regulatory moves should require legislative support from states to withdraw their jurisdiction.
The DeFi Educational Fund, together with the Blockchain Association and Texas Blockchain Council, dismissed their lawsuit against the IRS on April 16 because the DeFi broker rule was repealed and became obsolete. President Donald Trump signed the bill that revoked the treasury rule on April 11 after it required DeFi protocols to send their transactions to the IRS for reporting purposes. The new SEC leadership has established a pattern where lawsuits get suspended or dropped entirely.
