- Most of the funds came from the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its affiliated trading company Alameda
- Regulators have made 78% more money from eight settlements in 2024 than they did in 2023, when only $10.87 billion was paid
- Genesis' $2 billion settlement with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is the third-highest settlement of the year so far
In 2024 alone, crypto companies paid regulators in the United States over $19 billion in lawsuit settlements, nearly two-thirds of all settlements to date.
According to a recent CoinGecko report, most of the funds came from the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its affiliated trading company Alameda. In August alone, the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) received $12.7 billion in settlement payments.
Regulators have made 78% more money from eight settlements in 2024 than they did in 2023, when only $10.87 billion was paid, the report said. Compared to 2022, that represents an 8,327% increase in settlement values.
Source: CoinGecko
Top 3 crypto firm-regulator settlement amounts in 2024
Here are the top three settlements of 2024, the amounts and the regulators who received the money.
1. FTX and Alameda settlement of $12.7 billion with CFTC
Top of the list of the settlements of the year so far is the FTX and its affiliated trading company Alameda settlement of $12.7 billion. The amount was paid to the US Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in August 2024.
“The top crypto enforcement action carried out by US regulators has been against bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and affiliated trading firm Alameda, which were jointly dealt the biggest settlement charges of $12.70 billion to date”, the report explained. “FTX and Alameda’s lawsuit was led by the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), with the settlement announced in August 2024, just under two years since FTX collapsed. While this judgment does not include CFTC’s lawsuit against individual company executives, the $12.70 billion settlement will go towards repaying the $11.20 billion that FTX is estimated to owe customers and creditors."
2. Terraform Labs’ $4.47 billion settlement with SEC
The second highest settlement of the year is Terraform Labs’ $4.47 billion settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The settlement was reached over the 2022 collapse of the stablecoin TerraUSD (UST).
3. Genesis’ $2 billion settlement with OAG
Genesis' $2 billion settlement with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is the third-highest settlement of the year so far. In January 2023, Genesis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Source: CoinGecko
Individual lawsuits against executives were not included in the total settlement amounts, but forfeiture, disgorgement, civil penalties, settlement, and prejudgment interest were.
Lim Yu Qian, a CoinGecko research analyst, wrote that the collapse of Celsius and Terraform Labs in mid-2022 were “key events that marked the shift from crypto bull run to bear market, culminating in FTX’s fall, which prompted a new wave of regulatory scrutiny in the US.”
Qian further wrote in the report that Binance’s settlement is a landmark win for US regulators by being the only billion-dollar settlement given to an operating crypto company so far, despite ranking only fourth in monetary value. The leading global crypto exchange agreed to plead guilty in November 2023, to resolve lawsuits with multiple US regulators including the Department of Justice (DOJ), Treasury Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Qian added.
“There are now 25 crypto enforcement actions from US regulators that have resulted in settlements of over $10.00 million. In total, US regulators have cumulatively reached $31.92 billion in their top settlements against crypto companies.”
What DeFi is and how you can make money with DeFi staking
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that in the crypto world, there are a lot of jargons. Some of these jargons are popular in crypto circles but not for the everyday reader who runs into random crypto articles on the internet.
One of those popular jargons is DeFi. In this article, we will explain what DeFi means. That's not all. We will also explain what DeFi staking is and how you can make money from DeFi staking.
