Five SEC Enforcement Trends in 2025

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement program has entered a new era in 2025—less Fearless and more Folklore. As Taylor Swift might put it, the agency seems to have settled into its All Too Well phase—more introspective, deliberate and mindful of lessons learned. Under Chairman Paul Atkins, the Commission is operating with fewer staff and lower caseloads, focusing on cases that clearly involve fraud, market abuse or investor harm.

Here are five trends defining SEC enforcement this year:

1. A More Selective, Targeted Enforcement Posture

The SEC’s headline numbers are down, with 67 new actions filed in the first half of 2025 versus 127 for the same period in 2024. Atkins has stressed that the Commission must “go after cases of genuine harm and bad acts” while avoiding technical or low-impact matters that consume disproportionate resources.

To wit: the Enforcement division has deprioritized cases involving recordkeeping lapses, and several large matters have been voluntarily dismissed or quietly settled, freeing up resources for higher-impact investigations. According to Reuters’ mid-year enforcement review, staffing cuts are forcing more deliberate case selection tilted toward fraud and away from FCPA, whistleblower protection, and other areas where enforcement activity has been reduced.

2. Insider Trading Remains the Core of SEC Enforcement

Even amid the contraction, insider trading enforcement remains robust. The SEC has brought 17 insider trading cases since January, against targets ranging from executives and consultants to service-provider employees and family members.

Recent examples include charges against an EDGAR filing agent accused of leaking pending announcements, a pharmaceutical executive who traded ahead of clinical results, and a cannabis company CEO charged alongside associates.

The insider-trading emphasis underscores the agency’s focus on clear, relatable misconduct. These cases resonate with investors and typically require fewer novel legal theories, making them fit for a leaner SEC.

3. Crypto Enforcement Retreats, but Principles Harden

The most visible sign of recalibration is in the realm of digital assets. A string of case dismissals, including those involving Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, and Consensys, has signaled a notable philosophical shift.

Atkins’ SEC appears to be bypassing any hint of  “regulation by enforcement” in favor of a rulemaking-first approach. In his Senate confirmation testimony, for example, he noted he intends to “provide a firm regulatory foundation for digital assets through a rational, coherent, and principled approach.”

Indeed, the agency appears to be reserving enforcement for clear cases of fraud and moving away from technical registration-based actions that could stall in court.

4. ESG Enforcement Has Been Recast

Despite a public pivot away from ESG rulemaking, the SEC continues to pursue sustainability-related enforcement cases. The agency now simply treats misstatements about environmental or social metrics as standard disclosure or antifraud issues.

That’s in line with the philosophy of Commissioner Hester Peirce, who has long maintained existing antifraud statutes suffice to police ESG exaggeration. The recent Aspiration Partners case, which involves allegedly overstated “tree-planting” revenue, offers a strong example of her approach.

5. Potential Operational Strain

One underreported story from this year involves the Epic Capital case, in which an administrative law judge dismissed the SEC’s attempt to deny an investment advisor’s registration. The ruling offers a rare glimpse inside an enforcement division under pressure.

In the case, the Commission had indicated that the enforcement division would have to provide evidence of the misconduct that had disqualified the advisor from acting in that capacity in Colorado. Instead, the division of enforcement presented evidence of other misconduct, which the ALJ found unpersuasive. This kind of result could stem from a lack of internal capacity.

Overall, the SEC’s 2025 enforcement record reflects a strategic rebalance. The agency is doing less, but with greater focus and intent. Its leaner agenda is focused on the enduring pillars of market integrity: insider trading, fraud, disclosure accuracy and governance oversight. After years of broad enforcement swings and headline-grabbing cases, today’s SEC appears to be guided by experience, not impulse, perhaps remembering its past all too well.

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