A crypto-skeptical commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission has blasted her agency over its settlement letter that could finally end the Ripple legal saga.

The SEC and Ripple filed a joint settlement letter in a New York court asking for the August 2024 injunction against Ripple to be dissolved and $75 million of the $125 million in civil penalties held in escrow to be returned to the crypto firm, according to a May 8 statement from the SEC.

SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw blasted the pending deal in a May 8 statement, saying it would damage the regulators’ ability to keep crypto firms in line and undermine the court’s ruling.

Source: James Filan

“This settlement, alongside the programmatic disassembly of the SEC’s crypto enforcement program, does a tremendous disservice to the investing public and undermines the court’s role in interpreting our securities laws,” she said.

“In the meantime, the settlement joins a line of dismissals that collectively erode the credibility of our lawyers in court who are being asked to take legal positions today contrary to the ones taken just months ago.”

Under the Trump administration, the SEC has slowly been walking back its hardline stance toward crypto firms forged under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s reign, dismissing a growing number of enforcement actions against crypto firms.

At the same time, Crenshaw argues that if Judge Torres accepts the settlement, it would erase “the investor protections we already won” and leave a “regulatory vacuum,” until the crypto task force hammers out a regulatory framework.

“The settlement is not in the best interests of the investors and markets that our agency is tasked with serving and protecting. It creates more questions than answers.”

In August last year, a Judge ordered Ripple to pay $125 million in penalties after ruling the firm’s XRP (XRP) token was covered by securities laws when sold to institutional investors.

What’s next for the Ripple case? It’s not over yet

While the SEC and Ripple have agreed to a settlement, it’s still not a done deal, according to ex-federal prosecutor James Filan, because there are several steps before the long-running legal saga can conclude.

For a start, Judge Torres needs to provide an indicative ruling if she agrees to the settlement letter, Filan said in a May 8 analysis on X.

Source: James Filan

If Torres provides an indicative ruling, the SEC and Ripple will ask the Second Circuit Court of Appeals for a limited remand back to Judge Torres, which, if granted, will result in another motion being filed for the agreed settlement, according to Filan.

Related: Bitnomial drops SEC lawsuit ahead of XRP futures launch in the US

“After the injunction is dissolved and the funds distributed, the SEC and Ripple will ask the Court of Appeals to dismiss the SEC’s appeal and Ripple’s cross-appeal. Then it will be over,” he said.

The SEC initially launched legal action against Ripple Labs in December 2020, accusing the firm of illegally selling its token as an unregistered security. 

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Crypto exchange Coinbase’s total revenue fell 10% quarter-over-quarter to $2 billion in Q1, missing industry estimates by 4.1% as trading activity slowed across the market.

Coinbase’s net income was sliced by 95% from a near-company record $1.29 billion in Q4 to $66 million, in a large part due to Coinbase marking a $596 million paper loss on its crypto holdings.

The firm’s earnings per share of $1.94, however, managed to beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.85 for the quarter.

Coinbase’s May 8 results also showed that transaction revenue fell 18.9% quarter-on-quarter to $1.26 billion, as did trading volumes, which dipped 10.5% to $393 billion as crypto market cap dropped by double digits over the quarter, partly attributed to the Trump administration’s tariffs. 

In contrast, US President Donald Trump’s election win in November was considered one of the main catalysts behind the rising market prices in Q4. 

Key financial metrics for Coinbase in Q1. Source: Coinbase

Meanwhile, Coinbase’s subscription and services revenue rose 8.9% to $698.1 million, with stablecoin revenue the most significant contributor.

Despite the fall in total revenue and trading volume, Coinbase said it gained more market share in global spot and derivatives trading while deepening its presence in emerging markets such as Argentina and India with “critical registrations.”

On the regulatory front, Coinbase said the dismissal of its lawsuit with the US securities regulator marked a “major judicial win for balanced, innovation-friendly regulation, and our efforts to make crypto mainstream.”

Coinbase makes deal with major crypto derivatives platform

On May 8, Coinbase agreed to acquire crypto derivatives platform Deribit for $2.9 billion, marking the industry’s largest corporate acquisition to date. 

The acquisition will expand Coinbase’s footprint in the crypto derivatives market immensely, which previously had been limited to its Bermuda-based platform.

Coinbase noted that Deribit facilitated over $1 trillion in trading volume in 2024 and has around $30 billion of current open interest. 

Related: $45 million stolen from Coinbase users in the last week — ZachXBT

The deal now makes Coinbase the “global leader” in crypto derivatives trading, the firm said. 

Competitor firm Kraken struck a similar deal in March when it agreed to acquire futures brokerage NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion.

Coinbase’s Deribit deal contributed to a 5.1% rise in Coinbase’s (COIN) share price during the May 8 trading day, though shares have pulled back 3.1% in after-hours since the crypto exchange posted its Q1 results.

Coinbase’s change in share price on May 8, including after-hours. Source: Google Finance

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

Tech company Meta is reportedly exploring integrating stablecoin payments into its platforms after a three-year hiatus from cryptocurrencies, Fortune reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The Facebook parent held talks with several crypto infrastructure firms in consultation but has not chosen a decisive course of action, according to the report.

One source said the company may take a multi-token approach and integrate support for popular stablecoins such as Tether’s USDt (USDT), Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) and others.

Meta is the latest tech firm to integrate or explore the use of stablecoins for payments, as they increasingly attract institutional interest and investment, causing the stablecoin market capitalization to soar past $230 billion.

An overview of the stablecoin market. Source: RWA.XYZ

Related: US Stablecoin bill blocked as Democrats withdraw support

Stablecoins attract more institutional investment and become US strategic interest

Several payment processing companies announced investments into stablecoin companies or announced stablecoin integrations in May this year.

On May 7, payments giant Visa announced that it invested in stablecoin startup BVNK. Although details of the deal remain scant, Visa’s head of products and partnerships, Rubail Birwadker, said stablecoins were commanding an ever-greater market share of payments.

Stripe, a global payments platform, launched stablecoin-based accounts for customers in over 100 countries on May 7.

The accounts allow users to store stablecoin balances or transfer the tokens to other users and withdraw the stablecoin balances as fiat currency to traditional bank accounts.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto firm backed by US President Donald Trump, launched USD1, a US dollar-pegged stablecoin, in March.

In May, USD1 was the seventh-largest stablecoin by market cap — highlighting the rapid growth of the tokenized fiat market.

The Trump administration has repeatedly stated that stablecoins are central to US policy and a way to extend US dollar hegemony by harnessing demand for US government Treasurys and other government securities.

Source: Scott Bessent

However, comprehensive stablecoin regulations were stalled on May 8 after Democratic Senators blocked the GENIUS Stablecoin bill — dashing the hopes of senior officials in the Trump administration.

“The Senate missed an opportunity to provide leadership today by failing to advance the GENIUS Act. This bill represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand dollar dominance,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in a May 8 X post.

Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom