The SEC has issued $2.4 billion in crypto-related sanctions since 2013

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a total of about $2.35 billion in sanctions against digital asset market participants since 2013, according to a Jan. 19 report from Cornerstone Research.

The report, SEC Cryptocurrency Enforcement: 2021 Update, found that the SEC initiated a total of 97 enforcement actions worth $2.35 billion between 2013 and the end of 2021.

Of a total of 97, 58 were contentious actions and the remaining 39 were administrative proceedings. Of the total $2.35 billion raised through litigation, $1.71 billion was charged in litigation and $640 million in administrative proceedings.

Allegations in SEC Cryptocurrency Litigation. Source: Cornerstone research.

The majority of those charged were “corporate respondents only,” racking up $1.86 billion out of a total of $2.35 billion. Meanwhile, individual respondents were billed the remaining $490 million.

Although the SEC issued the first monetary penalty to a crypto participant in July 2013, the report highlights that SEC-initiated litigation in the crypto space only began to pick up in 2017. Between 2013 and 2017 , there were only a total of six SEC-initiated crypto cases.

The agency has launched 20 of 97 total actions in 2021 – 14 lawsuits in US federal courts and six administrative proceedings. Of the total 20 enforcement actions, 70% were related to initial coin offerings (ICOs). The report states:

“Of the 20 lawsuits filed in 2021, 65% alleged fraud, 80% alleged unregistered securities offering violation, and 55% alleged both.”

Report author Simona Mola wrote in a statement that the SEC’s recent crackdown on crypto may be linked to the appointment of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in April 2021, noting that the SEC’s enforcement had was “particularly high” between late May and mid-September. .

“The SEC has filed groundbreaking lawsuits 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,” she wrote.

Related: Gensler Confirms SEC Won’t Ban Crypto…But Congress Might

Cornerstone Research Vice President Abe Chernin said we can expect these strict measures to continue into the new year.

“Given the SEC’s continued focus on this space, in 2022 we may see more scrutiny of certain market players such as DeFi platforms.”

During the last week of December 2021, Gensler added new staff member Corey Frayer to help advise the agency’s oversight of cryptocurrencies. This follows news that Elad Roisman would step down as a member of the SEC board.

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