The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been increasing its enforcement actions against cryptocurrency companies and individuals in recent years. In 2022, the SEC brought 24 litigation actions in federal courts and 6 administrative proceedings against cryptocurrency companies and individuals, a significant increase over the previous year. During 2022, the SEC charged a total of 79 defendants or respondents in cryptocurrency cases, with 29% being firms and 71% individuals. Nearly half of the 30 enforcement actions brought that year involved initial coin offerings, and over half of those included allegations of fraud. See SEC v. Chiang, et al.(SEC, Litigation Release No. 25377, April 28, 2022), where the SEC charged the defendants for their roles in raising over $10 million through two fraudulent and unregistered digital asset securities offerings. See also SEC v. Block Bits Capital, LLC, et al. (SEC, Litigation Release No. 25376, April 28, 2022), where the SEC charged Block Bits Capital, LLC and its co-founders with conducting a fraudulent unregistered securities offering. Additionally, the SEC also brought a case for insider trading and market manipulation. In SEC v. Wahi, et al. (Case 2:22-cv-01009, July 21, 2022), the SEC brought insider trading charges against a former Coinbase product manager, his brother, and his friend for perpetrating a scheme to trade ahead of multiple announcements regarding certain crypto assets that would be made available for trading on the Coinbase platform.
Full story : Cryptocurrency Companies Should Expect More SEC Enforcement in the Near Future.
