Illinois will put a pin in its lawsuit against Coinbase over the exchange’s staking services, a spokesperson for Secretary of State, Alexi Giannoulias, said Thursday.

“The office intends to drop the Coinbase lawsuit,” Giannoulias’ spokesperson told crypto media outlet CoinDesk. No timeline for the dismissal was provided.

The decision makes Illinois the fourth state to abandon litigation over the past month.

Vermont was the first state to dismiss its lawsuit on March 13, followed by South Carolina on March 27, with Kentucky filing on March 31.

The state-level retreats follow the Securities and Exchange Commission’s February decision to drop its own federal lawsuit against Coinbase, signaling a broader regulatory shift in crypto oversight under the Trump administration.

All ten state lawsuits were filed in June 2023 and were primarily based on the SEC lawsuit, which alleged Coinbase violated securities laws through its staking program that allowed crypto holders to earn rewards by locking up digital assets.

Regulators claimed these services constituted unregistered securities offerings. The ten states followed.

Illinois’ withdrawal is particularly critical as the state simultaneously advances a Bitcoin strategic reserve bill, proposing to create a dedicated fund to hold Bitcoin as a financial asset for at least five years.

Four down, six to go

So far, six states have not made any changes or taken any action to withdraw their lawsuits against the exchange: Alabama, California, Maryland, New Jersey, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Officials from New Jersey and Washington confirmed their cases remain active, according to the initial report. Meanwhile, the four other remaining states have made no public statement on pending litigation.

Decrypt has reached out to the states of Alabama, California, Maryland, and Wisconsin to confirm.

Coinbase has consistently claimed to advocate for clearer federal regulation rather than state-by-state enforcement.

Following earlier dismissals, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal urged Congress to “end this litigation-driven, state-by-state approach with a federal market structure law.”

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

A financial services firm has been fined over $400,000 after pleading guilty to wash trading in a Boston court.

CLS Global, a firm that specializes in market making, was ordered to pay a total of $428,059 to the government, in the form of seized cryptocurrency and fines.

The company was also sentenced to three years’ probation, during which time it will not be able to participate in U.S. cryptocurrency markets.

These charges followed an undercover law enforcement operation which specifically targeted sham trading, wash trading and activity intended to attract investors.

The company agreed to provide services for NexFundAI, an apparent cryptocurrency firm and Ethereum-based token traded on decentralized exchange Uniswap. In fact, the token and company were both created by the FBI as part of a sting operation targeting wash trading.

CLS Global’s actions

CLS Global, with a staff of 50 employed individuals, is based in the United Arab Emirates but works with cryptocurrencies available to investors inside the United States.

The company pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud and one count of wire fraud in January 2025. In a statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts noted that a remaining defendant in the case is presumed innocent “unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”

In a series of videoconferences, an employee of the firm revealed that the firm employed an algorithm that, “basically does self-trades,” making cryptocurrency trades from multiple wallets in an effort to mimic “organic buying and selling.”

The employee went on to say, “I know that it’s wash trading and I know people might not be happy about it.”

The House Financial Services Committee voted to advance stablecoin legislation Wednesday, approving the STABLE Act with 32 members in favor and 17 opposed.

The bill, formally named the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy Act, would create a framework for dollar-denominated stablecoins, including reserve requirements and anti-money laundering standards.

During the markup session’s opening remarks, House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill stressed how blockchain technology “continues to transform the way money moves.” 

Hill stated that the bill forms part of their “ongoing efforts” to promote “financial innovation through sound digital asset policy. “

The vote proceeded despite controversy over President Donald Trump’s family’s connections to crypto ventures, including their foray into stablecoins with USD1 through World Liberty Financial.

Early in the session, Democrats raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, suggesting amendments to prevent the president and cabinet members from offering stablecoin products while in office.

Those concerns connect with an earlier statement by Rep. French Hill from Monday that Trump’s crypto dealings have made drafting stablecoin legislation “more complicated.”

The legislation now faces two more hurdles before becoming law. After the markup, it will be reported out of committee and scheduled for consideration by the House of Representatives.

Both the House and Senate must align their approaches, with key differences in state versus federal regulation and the treatment of foreign issuers such as Tether.

The GENIUS Act, a separate version from the Senate, will be considered alongside it.

Once the STABLE bill passes the House, it will move to the Senate, where it will undergo a similar process of committee consideration before potentially reaching the Senate floor for a vote.

If both chambers approve the bill, any differences between the House and Senate versions would need to be reconciled before the final legislation could be sent to the President for signature or veto.

Wednesday’s development marks the committee’s second attempt to advance stablecoin legislation. A previous effort in 2023 stalled amid partisan disagreements under the Biden administration.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair