PANews reported on April 9th ​​that, according to The Block, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has appointed David Woodcock as the new director of its enforcement division, succeeding Margaret Ryan. Woodcock previously served as the SEC's Fort Worth office director from 2011 to 2015 and is currently a partner at the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He has no specific background in the cryptocurrency industry. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that Woodcock's return will help focus on misconduct that causes the greatest harm to investors.

This personnel change comes a month after Ryan's departure. According to Reuters, Ryan wanted to delve deeper into fraud allegations involving President Trump's inner circle, but faced opposition from Atkins and senior Republican officials on the committee. Under the Trump administration, the SEC has dropped cases against several major crypto companies, including Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal expressed concern about Ryan's departure, stating that Trump's conflicts of interest created a "pay-to-play enforcement mechanism."