According to Cointelegraph, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has imposed nearly $4.7 billion in enforcement actions against cryptocurrency firms and executives in 2024, marking an over 3,000% increase from the previous year. This significant rise is largely attributed to a $4.47 billion settlement with Terraform Labs and its former CEO Do Kwon in June, which is the SEC's largest enforcement action to date.
The SEC's 11 enforcement actions in 2024 have resulted in a 3,018% increase from the $150.3 million in fines collected in 2023, despite having 19 fewer actions against crypto firms. The total monetary enforcement amount this year surpasses the combined total from 2013 to 2023. The fines include forfeiture amounts, disgorgement, civil penalties, settlement amounts, and prejudgment interest, counted from the initiation of the enforcement action.
This year's increase in fines indicates a strategic shift by the SEC towards targeting more influential cases. The report suggests that the SEC is focusing on fewer but larger fines to make high-impact enforcement actions that set precedents for the entire industry. In 2019, the SEC imposed a $1.24 billion action against social messaging network Telegram, which included $18.5 million in civil penalties and $1.2 billion in disgorgement paid back to investors. This case significantly contributed to the average fine rising nearly 2,000% year-on-year to over $70 million in 2019.
From 2019 to 2023, the average fine ranged between $5 million and $35.2 million, but the Terraform Labs case has brought the 2024 average fine above $420 million. Other notable enforcement actions include those against GTV Media Group, Ripple Labs, and fraudsters John and Tina Barksdale, each exceeding $100 million. Despite these large fines, 46% of the fines imposed since 2020 have been below $1 million, while 30% fell between the $1 million and $10 million range.
