The SEC Has Hit Crypto Companies With Almost $2 Billion in Penalties
Emma Newbery , 15 May 2021
It’s hardly surprising that the recent boom in cryptocurrencies has spurred an increase in crypto crime. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), one of the bodies that regulates cryptocurrencies, pursued more crypto cases than ever last year.
As of March, the SEC’s actions had brought in over $1.7 billion in penalties, according to a report from Cornerstone Research. That’s from a total of 94 enforcement actions and trading suspensions it pursued between 2013 and 2020. More than half of those cases were in 2019 and 2020.
What kind of cases has the SEC pursued?
According to Cornerstone Research, 52% of the cases involved fraud and 69% involved unregistered securities offerings. Almost 1 in 4 of the actions involved both fraud and unregistered securities.
