US state Vermont has dropped its “show cause order” against crypto exchange Coinbase for allegedly offering unregistered securities to users through a staking service.

Vermont’s Department of Financial Regulation said in a March 13 order that in light of the US Securities and Exchange Commission tossing out its case on Feb. 28, it would follow suit and rescind its action against Coinbase without prejudice.

“The SEC has announced the formation of a new task force to, among other things, provide guidance for the promulgation of rules regarding the regulation of cryptocurrency products and services,” the department said.

“In light of the dismissal of the Federal Action and likelihood of new federal regulatory guidance, the Division believes it would be most efficient and in the best interests of justice to rescind the pending Show Cause Order, without prejudice.”

On the same day the SEC filed its lawsuit in June 2023, the US states of Alabama, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin said they were launching legal proceedings against Coinbase.

The show cause order asserted that Coinbase was violating securities laws by offering staking to its users without a license and demanded the exchange provide a reason why the courts shouldn’t hit them with an order directing them to halt the service. 

Now that Vermont has opted out, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal said in a March 13 statement to X that the other states with staking actions should take a “page from Vermont’s playbook.”

“As we have always said: staking services are not securities. We applaud Vermont for embracing progress and providing clarity for its citizens who own digital assets,” he said.

“Our work isn’t over. Congress must seize the bipartisan momentum we’re seeing across the House and Senate to pass comprehensive legislation that takes into account the novel features of digital assets, such as staking,” he added.

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A growing number of firms facing legal action from the SEC have had their cases dismissed in the wake of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who took a hardline stance toward crypto, resigning on Jan. 20.

Crypto trading firm Cumberland DRW was among the latest to have its case dropped on March 4, while the regulator is reportedly wrapping up its enforcement action against Ripple Labs after more than four years.

Grewal has also launched a request under the Freedom of Information Act to find out how many enforcement actions were brought against crypto firms under Gensler’s tenure between April 17, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2025, and the cost to the taxpayer. 

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The founder of a cryptocurrency exchange whose namesake was tied to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) was found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering in a California court.

In a March 12 trial in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, a jury found AML Bitcoin creator Rowland Marcus Andrade guilty of two felony counts as part of a scheme to defraud investors. Authorities initially filed criminal charges against Andrade in June 2020 in parallel to a civil case filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the AML Bitcoin creator and the NAC Foundation, for which he was the founder and CEO.

“Mr. Andrade’s outrageous lies lured and scammed individuals into investing their hard-earned money into a new cryptocurrency with fabricated features,” said Linda Nguyen, the IRS Criminal Investigation Oakland Field Office Special Agent in Charge. “But there is nothing advanced about this scheme. Rowland Marcus Andrade stole money from innocent people and used it to further his personal wealth.”

The SEC’s civil case against Andrade was notable for the involvement of political lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who served four years in prison between 2006 and 2010 following his conviction on mail fraud, conspiracy to bribe public officials and tax evasion. A judge agreed to stay the SEC lawsuit in January 2021 until the conclusion of Andrade’s criminal case, suggesting that it may once again proceed soon.

The June 2020 indictment alleged the NAC Foundation claimed a cryptocurrency that AML Bitcoin would launch — it never did — would comply with money laundering and Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. Andrade used those claims for an initial coin offering between 2017 and 2018. According to the information presented at his trial, the AML Bitcoin creator diverted more than $2 million in proceeds from the sale of the platform, spending it on real estate and luxury automobiles.

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“Andrade falsely claimed, among other misrepresentations, that the Panama Canal Authority was close to permitting AML Bitcoin to be used for ships passing through the Panama Canal when no such agreement existed,” said the Justice Department.

The AML Bitcoin creator is scheduled to return to court for a sentencing hearing on July 22, having remained free on a $75,000 bond since 2020 with some travel restrictions. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud count and 10 years for the money laundering count.

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The United States Senate Banking Committee elected to advance the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act in an 18-6 vote.

None of the amendments proposed by Senator Elizabeth Warren made it into the bill, including her proposal to limit stablecoin issuance to banking institutions.

“Without changes, this bill will supercharge the financing of terrorism. It will make sanctions evasion by Iran, North Korea, and Russia easier,” Warren argued.

Senator Tim Scott, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, characterized the bill as a victory for innovation. The Senator said:

“The GENIUS Act establishes Common Sense rules that require stablecoin issuers to maintain reserves backed one-to-one, comply with anti-money laundering laws, and ultimately protect American consumers while promoting the US dollar’s strength in the global economy.”

The bill must still pass a vote in both chambers of Congress before it is turned over to President Trump and ultimately signed into law.

However, the Senate Banking Committee advancing the bill represents the first step in clear, comprehensive legislation requested by the crypto industry.

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Senator Bill Hagerty, who introduced the bill in February 2025, defended the legislation against the proposed amendments from Senator Warren, arguing that the bill already includes provisions for consumer protection, Anti-Money Laundering, and crime prevention.

On March 10, Hagerty announced that the bill was updated to include stricter reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers, AML provisions, safeguards against terrorist financing, transparent risk management procedures, and stipulations for sanctions compliance.

According to Dom Kwok, founder of the Web3 learning platform Easy A, the newly added provisions will make it harder for foreign stablecoin issuers to comply, giving US-based firms a competitive edge.

Attorney Jeremy Hogan said the GENIUS Act signals an impending merger of the traditional financial system with stablecoins.

“The legislation is explicitly making plans for stablecoins to interact with the traditional digital banking system. The ‘merge’ is being planned,” the attorney wrote in a March 10 X post.

During the March 7 White House Crypto Summit, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explicitly said that the Trump administration would leverage stablecoins to protect the US dollar’s global reserve status.

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