The U.S. government’s fight against crypto entities became more intense last year. Within 48 hours in early June, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance and Coinbase, the largest crypto exchanges globally and in the country. The allegations against the entities were similar: failure to register as brokers, national securities exchanges, clearing agencies, and violation of U.S. securities laws.
Two months after the Binance and Coinbase lawsuits, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged the co-founders of Tornado Cash, accusing them of laundering over $1 billion in criminal proceeds. This was a year after the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the crypto mixer for its ties to cybercrime groups.
Toward the end of last year, the SEC sued the crypto exchange Kraken on the same charges it brought against Binance and Coinbase. Around the same time, the DOJ charged Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), with willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The case saw the crypto exchange pay a fine of $4.3 billion, while CZ resigned from the role of CEO with a $50 million penalty.