Recently, U.S. regulators seem to be rushing to boost performance before the end of the 2024 fiscal year, accelerating their enforcement efforts in the crypto sector.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the federal government is investigating cryptocurrency company Tether for potentially violating sanctions and anti-money laundering regulations. Although Tether has denied this, it has still caused some panic in the market.

Throughout October, the SEC has charged at least 20 crypto projects and individuals, including Cumberland, Gotbit, CLS, ZM Quant, Saitama, and Robo Inu, seizing over $25 million in cryptocurrency. Many of these charges have been enforced in cooperation with the FBI and DOJ, with crypto market makers and trading firms that are closer to the money becoming key targets.

With U.S. regulators not slowing down their scrutiny of crypto, the number of crypto lawsuits and settlements in 2024 may reach new highs.

In 2024, crypto settlements have approached a record high of nearly $20 billion, with leading players becoming key targets.

2024 is expected to be a year of significant increase in U.S. crypto regulatory enforcement. According to Coingecko data, as of October 9, 2024, the total amount of crypto enforcement and settlements by U.S. regulators has reached nearly $20 billion, a 78.9% increase from 2023, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total settlement amount over the past five years. Given that 2024 is not yet over and regulatory actions have not slowed, it is expected that this year's crypto lawsuit and settlement records will surpass those of 2023.

From the SEC's perspective, according to a report updated on October 19 by social capital markets, the SEC's fines for the crypto sector in 2024 have reached $4.68 billion. Since 2013, the SEC has imposed a total of $7.42 billion in fines on cryptocurrency companies and individuals, meaning that 63% of the total fines have been concentrated in 2024.

The fine amount in 2024 has increased by 3018% compared to 2023's $150.26 million.

Although the amount of fines has increased, the number of incidents has decreased. In 2024, the SEC only enforced 11 crypto cases, far fewer than the 30 cases in 2023.

The SEC's crypto enforcement strategy has clearly shifted, now targeting representative cases and taking more impactful enforcement actions (such as higher fines and more aggressive publicity) to establish industry precedents.

This year's massive fines from the SEC are primarily attributed to Terra and its co-founder Do Kwon, setting a precedent for SEC enforcement in crypto.

This year, apart from Terra, major players in all sectors of crypto have struggled to escape the SEC's regulatory lawsuits.

In April, DeFi leader Uniswap Labs and ConsenSys received Wells notices prior to SEC litigation, both accused of violating securities laws by not registering as brokers and participating in the issuance and sale of certain unregistered securities. ConsenSys was formally sued by the SEC on June 28.

On August 28, NFT market leader OpenSea and leading crypto exchange Crypto.com also received Wells notices, being accused of trading NFTs or tokens on their platforms that could be considered unregistered securities.

In October, the SEC also collaborated with the FBI and DOJ to enforce against the largest meme market maker, Gotbit, and charged leading market maker Cumberland with violating securities laws.

While the market speculates on who the next target of U.S. regulators will be, Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett recently stated on platform X that no major cryptocurrency participants registered with the SEC in 2024, but the commission has still included cryptocurrencies in its 2025 review priority list.

Terrett speculates, "The only two crypto assets that have interacted under SEC's regulatory role (rather than enforcement role) are Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Is the review focused on these ETFs and the companies working with them?"

According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Treasury has set its sights on the largest stablecoin issuer, Tether.

Oppressive regulation is a catalyst for memes; could Trump's presidency be a bearish factor for memes?

Castle Island Ventures co-founder Nic Carter stated on his social media that the meme coin speculation craze is largely a reaction to the SEC's oppressive regulation. If the SEC were to regulate rationally, the demand for trading meme coins would decrease.

Crypto KOL @WutalkWu also believes that one regulatory reason for the popularity of memes is that the SEC does not allow issuers to assign value to tokens; otherwise, they would need to be registered as securities.

He stated that under such regulatory conditions, many VC tokens have become meme coins. What should have been equity investments, revenue sharing, and long-term follow-ups by VCs have turned into treating projects as memes for speculation.

However, if Trump is elected, the situation may change. Overseas crypto KOL @malekanoms analyzed that Trump's victory would have a bearish effect on memes.

@malekanoms believes that a Republican landslide would overturn everything, restoring Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), implementing universal airdrops, and other forms of token rationalization. Additionally, they may enable fee conversions and token dividends. The rationalized regulation in the U.S. would refocus attention on dApps and other truly important matters, but it could also lead to a prolonged bear market.

Increased regulation raises operational costs for companies, making hiring officials a trend.

To minimize the operational costs associated with hefty fines, hiring government officials has become a trend among crypto companies.

FOX reporters noted that this year, the SEC's "revolving door" phenomenon is particularly evident, with several prominent officials leaving to join private companies.

Former acting head of crypto assets and the network division Carolyn Welshhans has joined Morgan Lewis, focusing on securities enforcement matters.

Former enforcement department director Gurbir Grewal has joined Milbank Law as a partner, and the firm is currently representing clients such as Binance in SEC lawsuits initiated during Grewal's tenure.

Former head of crypto assets and the network division David Hirsch has joined McGuireWoods LLP, providing clients with consulting services related to crypto and cybersecurity regulations.

Ladan Stewart, who previously filed lawsuits against Coinbase and Ripple for the SEC, has also joined White & Case to help clients deal with SEC enforcement actions related to crypto and other areas.

Aside from hiring officials, Uniswap's launch of Unichain is a way to respond to regulation. Crypto KOL @_FORAB believes that subsequent DeFi projects with native coin staking rewards will likely follow Uniswap's lead in launching their own application chains to avoid regulatory issues related to securities. "After all, running a standalone chain costs much less than paying fines to the SEC."

With Gary Gensler's term ending, will crypto regulation welcome a new dawn?

Days later, the 2024 U.S. elections will conclude. Whether Trump or Harris wins, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler may resign early, as his term was originally set to end on January 5, 2026.

However, Trump clearly stated at the Bitcoin conference in July this year that he would fire Gensler, while the Harris team has privately met with figures from the crypto industry to express intentions to reset industry relations.

U.S. Congressman French Hill (R-AR) stated in an interview with the Thinking Crypto podcast that the SEC should have new leadership next year, regardless of which party controls the White House.

Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse also predicts that Gensler will leave after the upcoming presidential election, regardless of the election outcome.

According to CNBC reports, the potential successors to Gensler include J. Christopher Giancarlo and Heath Tarbert, both former chairs of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) during Trump's first term, current Robinhood Chief Legal Officer and former two-term SEC commissioner Dan Gallagher, and Paul Atkins, who served as an SEC commissioner under the Bush administration.

Based on their past statements or regulatory attitudes during their terms, almost all have a friendlier stance towards cryptocurrencies compared to Gensler.

In addition to looking forward to a more lenient attitude from U.S. regulators, crypto companies need clear regulatory rules. Instead of spending vast human and material resources thinking about how to avoid being sued, crypto companies may prefer to focus on building under clearer rules.

Consensys sent an open letter to future U.S. presidents last week, calling for clear and supportive regulations for cryptocurrencies and Web3.

SEC Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda recently pointed out that countries in the Indo-Pacific region, such as Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, have established clear frameworks that both support innovation and protect investors. In contrast, the U.S. faces uncertainty due to a lack of clear guidelines. He will urge the U.S. to adopt a more proactive attitude in crypto regulation.