- The US SEC has witnessed a surge of 3,018% in fines levied on crypto firms since 2023.
- The agency levied enforcement actions worth $4.7 billion in 2024.
- The SEC took a total 11 enforcement actions in 2024, including one against Terraform Labs.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ramped up its enforcement efforts against crypto firms in 2024, collecting $4.7 billion in fines—a massive 3,018% increase from the previous year.
This year’s hefty total was largely driven by the landmark settlement with Terraform Labs, the company behind the Terra ecosystem collapse and the UST stablecoin de-pegging. As part of the settlement, Terraform was ordered to pay a hefty $4.47 billion fine.
The report stated that since 2013, the SEC has levied a total of $7.42 billion in fines, with 63%, or $4.7 billion, coming in 2024 alone. The 11 enforcement actions taken this year resulted in an average fine of $426 million, dwarfing previous years’ averages.
Read also: SEC’s Regulatory Policies Destroy Crypto Industry, Claims Mark Cuban
SEC’s Shift Toward High-Impact Enforcement
It is important to note that the average fine fluctuated between 2019 and 2024, “reflecting the SEC’s alternating focus between high-profile, high-penalty cases and more frequent, smaller infractions,” said the report while adding:
“This trend indicates a strategic shift by the SEC toward fewer but larger fines, with a focus on making high-impact enforcement actions that set precedents for the entire industry.”
Beyond the Terraform Labs penalty, the SEC also imposed a significant $1.24 billion fine on Telegram in 2019 for the unregistered sale of securities via the TON blockchain. Additionally, Ripple Labs faced a $125 million fine in 2021.
Crypto Regulation and the U.S. Election
Crypto regulation has emerged as a key issue in the US presidential race. Republican candidate Donald Trump has promised the industry he would remove SEC Chair Gary Gensler on his first day in office, criticizing Gensler’s actions against the digital asset sector.
In contrast, Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris, has struggled to gain support from the crypto community despite recent pledges to regulate the sector.
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