According to the latest report from consultancy Cornerstone Research, the SEC imposed a record number of enforcement actions against the cryptocurrency industry last year.. In 2022, the commission filed a total of 24 cases in US federal courts and six administrative proceedings.. This is twice as much as in the previous year.
Of the 30 cases, 14 involved initial coin offerings (ICOs), and eight of them accused companies of fraud.. Also last year, the first insider trading and market manipulation case involving the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies was filed.. This is the case of Nikhil Wahi, brother of the former Coinbase crypto exchange product manager, who was eventually sentenced to ten months in prison.
Other high-profile Cornerstone Research cases included an accusation against BlockFi, as a result of which the company paid $50 million in commissions and suspended the placement of cryptocurrency deposits for Americans.
Under the leadership of Gary Gensler, the commission has focused on crypto lending platforms, crypto exchanges, and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, according to Cornerstone CEO and report author Simona Mola.
Mola believes that such a policy could lead to new lawsuits from the commission.. Especially in light of the recent expansion of the team to investigate violations of securities laws in the cryptocurrency markets.
Earlier it became known that the SEC accidentally leaked the personal data of about 650 cryptocurrency miners during an investigation related to Green.