A landmark legal battle for the U.S. crypto sector, the government accusation that Coinbase ran an unregistered exchange, has been entirely abandoned.

The Securities and Exchange Commission dismissed its lead case against the cryptocurrency industry, a lawsuit against crypto exchange Coinbase, signaling an about-face in the agency's enforcement approach toward digital assets under President Donald Trump.

The battle may be around setting rules for exchanges and establishing when tokens should be treated as securities or as commodities.