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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially closed its investigation into Yuga Labs and Kraken while offering its employees an incentive to leave the regulator.
Yuga Labs revealed that the SEC had dropped its long-running case against the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks NFT collections.
“After 3+ years, the SEC has officially closed its investigation into Yuga Labs. This is a huge win for NFTs and all creators pushing our ecosystem forward. NFTs are not securities,” the company stated on X.
After 3+ years, the SEC has officially closed its investigation into Yuga Labs.
— Yuga Labs (@yugalabs) March 3, 2025
This is a huge win for NFTs and all creators pushing our ecosystem forward. NFTs are not securities.
The SEC initially launched its probe into Yuga Labs in October 2022, aiming to determine whether specific NFTs could be classified as securities under federal law.
Reviewing Yuga Labs’ NFT collections, including Bored Ape Yacht Club, the SEC looked into whether the firm's assets would be classified as investment contracts under the Howey Test.
Additionally, the SEC scrutinized the sale of ApeCoin (APE), a cryptocurrency associated with the BAYC ecosystem, to assess whether it fell under securities regulations.
In a parallel development, Kraken revealed that the SEC has agreed to dismiss its civil lawsuit accusing the exchange of operating as an unregistered securities exchange.
"The SEC’s decision to dismiss its lawsuit against us (and many others) is more than just a legal victory — it’s a turning point for the future of crypto in the U.S. It ends a wasteful, politically motivated campaign, lifts uncertainty that stifled innovation and investment, and clears the path toward a stable, forward-thinking regulatory regime," the exchanges stated.
The dismissal, which is with prejudice—meaning it cannot be refiled—comes without penalties or admissions of wrongdoing from Kraken.
https://t.co/4Ow50mZWhv pic.twitter.com/aURU02ZHU0
— Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) March 3, 2025
Yuga Labs and Kraken's news follow a series of investigations against the crypto industry that were also dropped by the regulator.
Last week, the SEC agreed to drop its enforcement action against crypto software firm Consensys.
Consensys founder Joseph Lubin announced via social media that the SEC had agreed "in principle" to dismiss the securities enforcement case concerning MetaMask, the company's widely used cryptocurrency wallet.
Blockhead
Earlier, the SEC also dropped its probe into Uniswap Labs, In a blog post at the time, Uniswap said the SEC's legal arguments are "weak" and have been "refuted" by courts.
"The SEC’s aggressive theories are an effort to expand its jurisdiction beyond exchanges to communications technology – and beyond securities to all markets," Uniswap stated.
Blockhead
The decision followed the regulator dropping its case against Robinhood without pursuing an enforcement action.
On 21 February, the SEC's Enforcement Division informed Robinhood that it had concluded its probe, which commenced when the exchange received a Wells Notice in May 2024.
Blockhead
February also saw the SEC closing its investigation into OpenSea and ending its lawsuit against Coinbase.
Blockhead
Furthermore, the SEC has announced a voluntary early retirement program, offering employees a $50,000 incentive to resign or retire.
This initiative comes as part of the Trump administration's broader strategy to reduce the federal workforce, which has already resulted in over 100,000 job
SEC employees have also been instructed to return to in-office work starting April 14, 2025, as part of President Trump’s directive to terminate remote work arrangements across federal agencies.
