Payouts of $15 million by the CFTC to two informants in the digital-asset industry allowed the agency to initiate and successfully conclude a number of enforcement actions.
Details are not disclosed in the press release.
According to CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero, the crypto industry remains “a sector where fraud and other illegal activities are still widespread.”
The official noted the role of informants, without whom the agency could not “fully protect” clients and markets. She also commended the department’s efforts in education and customer outreach, which teach how to identify, avoid, and report cryptocurrency fraud.
Since 2014, under the CFTC whistleblower program, the agency has paid out $350 million, which, as a result of enforcement actions, helped return more than $3 billion to the budget.
Earlier, Romero urged addressing the problem of cryptocurrency anonymity, which makes them attractive for illicit financing.
In July, the CFTC fined the Bitcoin exchange Digitex and its CEO Adam Todd $15 million for fraud and unlicensed activity.
Later, the head of the agency Rostin Behnam said that the agency needs the powers to establish forward-looking fraud-prevention rules for the cryptocurrency market.