Over 2022 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought 30 cryptocurrency-related cases, 50% more than the year before, according to Cornerstone Research’s report.
The figure accounted for almost a quarter of the regulator’s total enforcement actions for the year — 127 cases.
Experts noted that the most frequent charges against participants in the digital-asset industry from the SEC were alleged fraud (70% of cases) and unregistered securities offerings (73%). In half of the cases the regulator had claims on both counts.
By year-end, the total value of fines arising from SEC enforcement actions stood at about $2.61 billion, of which settlements totaling $242 million were resolved during the period.
Of the 30 regulator cases, 14 involved ICO, and in eight of them the projects faced fraud charges.
Among the most notable enforcement actions, researchers cited the case of insider trading by a former Coinbase employee and charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried for deceiving investors.
Authors of the report suggested that oversight of the crypto industry would remain a priority for the Commission under Gary Gensler’s leadership. They noted that in May the agency nearly doubled the size of the relevant division.
In January 2023, the SEC charged Gemini, the Winklevoss brothers’ bitcoin exchange, with selling unregistered securities.
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