The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a total of approximately $2.35 billion in penalties against participants in the digital asset marketplace since 2013 according to a Jan 19 report by Cornerstone Research.<\/p>\n
The report<\/a>, SEC Cryptocurrency Enforcement: 2021 Update, found that the SEC brought a total of 97 enforcement actions worth $2.35 billion between 2013 and the end of 2021. <\/p>\n Fifty eight of the total of 97 were actions litigations and the remaining 39 were administrative proceedings. Of the total $2.35 billion raised by the litigations, $1.71 billion was charged in litigation and $640 million in administrative proceedings. <\/p>\n The majority of those charged were \u201cfirm respondents only,\u201d racking up $1.86 billion of the total $2.35 billion. Meanwhile, individual respondents were charged the remaining $490 million. <\/p>\n Although the SEC doled out the first monetary penalty against a crypto participant in July 2013, the report<\/a> points out that SEC-initiated litigation in the crypto space didn\u2019t begin to pick up until 2017. Between 2013 and 2017, there was only a total of six SEC-initiated crypto cases. <\/p>\n The agency launched 20 of the total 97 actions in 2021 \u2013 14 litigation actions in U.S. federal courts and six administrative proceedings. Of the 20 total enforcement actions, 70% were related to initial coin offerings (ICOs). The report states:<\/p>\n \u201cOf the 20 enforcement actions brought in 2021, 65% alleged fraud, 80% alleged an unregistered securities offering violation, and 55% alleged both.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The report\u2019s author Simona Mola wrote in a statement<\/a> that the SEC\u2019s recent crackdown on crypto may be linked to the appointment of SEC chair Gary Gensler<\/a> in April 2021, noting that SEC enforcement had been \u201cnotably high\u201d between the end of May and mid-September. <\/p>\n \u201cThe SEC brought some first-of-a-kind actions against a crypto lending platform, an unregistered digital asset exchange, and a decentralized finance (DeFi) lender. It also imposed one of the largest monetary penalties we have seen in an ICO-related enforcement action after Telegram,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n Related: <\/em><\/strong>Gensler confirms SEC won\u2019t ban crypto… but Congress could<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Cornerstone Research vice president Abe Chernin said that we can expect these tough measures to continue into the new year. <\/p>\n \u201cGiven the SEC\u2019s continued focus on this space, in 2022 we may see further scrutiny of certain market participants such as DeFi platforms.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In the last week of Dec 2021, Gensler added a new staff member<\/a> Corey Frayer to help advise the agency\u2019s oversight of cryptocurrencies. This came in the wake of news that Elad Roisman would be leaving his position as SEC board member<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2022-01\/884e24d2-4aea-4cd0-874b-b7ea68807075.png\")