The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced on December 4 that fiscal year 2024 set a record, recovering up to $17.1 billion in fines and compensation for cryptocurrency enforcement. The largest proportion of these cases is the well-known FTX crash case, which became the largest victim compensation case in the history of the CFTC.
FTX case leads compensation, recovering a record US$12.7 billion
The CFTC racked up a record $17.1 billion in fines and damages in 2024, of which the FTX exchange collapse contributed $12.7 billion.
FTX’s compensation details: Involving fraud charges against FTX exchange and sister institution Alameda Research, as well as many senior executives including founder SBF and SBF’s girlfriend. U.S. prosecutors finally ruled that FTX must pay US$8.7 billion in compensation and US$4 billion in illegal gains recovery, setting a record for a single case in the history of the CFTC.
Related developments: SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March, SBF's ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison was sentenced to two years, and former FTX executive Ryan Salame is currently serving a seven-year sentence. Former FTX co-founder and chief technology officer Gary Wang and engineering director Nishad Singh both received three years of probation.
(Rapper Diddy and FTX founder SBF became inmates and the two lived in the same room)
Binance follows suit, CZ pays huge fine
The CFTC’s enforcement action against the well-known exchange Binance also attracted a lot of attention. The case, which accused Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) of engaging in illegal operations and eventually reached a settlement, was regarded by the CFTC as another important victory for cryptocurrency enforcement and showed its tough attitude towards illegal activities in the industry. Here are the amounts sought by the CFTC:
Changpeng Zhao (CZ) personally paid a fine of $150 million.
Binance was ordered to pay $1.35 billion in disgorgement and fines.
Other major encryption cases
In addition to FTX and Binance, the CFTC is also handling several major cases involving cryptocurrencies this year:
Voyager case: Stephen Ehrlich, the former CEO of cryptocurrency asset brokerage Voyager, was sued by the CFTC for allegedly operating fraudulently and without legal registration. The lawsuit is currently ongoing.
Seneca Ventures Ponzi scheme: Seneca Ventures was sentenced to pay US$230 million, including compensation, fines and disgorgement of illegal gains, for allegedly using cryptocurrency investment and derivatives trading as a pretext, and then through false propaganda and unauthorized misappropriation of customer funds.
Romance Fraud: The CFTC prosecuted a defendant for using romance fraud to illegally misappropriate $2.3 million in customer funds for digital asset trading.
This article US CFTC revenue breaks record: FTX, Binance contribute the most, 2024 cryptocurrency law enforcement recovers 17 billion magnesium first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.
