The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken 33 crypto-related enforcement actions in 2024, the final year of Chairman Gary Gensler’s administration, according to a Cornerstone Research report released today. This figure is 30% lower than the high achieved in 2023 and represents the first year-on-year decline since 2021.
report, SEC Enforcement of Cryptocurrencies: 2024 UpdateIt found that of the 33 enforcement actions, half were filed in September and October, before the presidential election in early November. The SEC filed 25 lawsuits in U.S. district courts and eight administrative actions in 2024. Compared to 2023, the number of lawsuits decreased slightly, while administrative actions decreased by more than 50%. Monetary penalties imposed reached a record high of $4.98 billion, largely due to a single multi-billion-dollar settlement.
We’ll be watching how implementation might change in 2025, in light of the SEC’s recently announced cryptocurrency task force.
“The SEC has continued to focus on its implementation Amateur “Testing,” said Abe Chernin, vice president of Cornerstone Research and co-lead of the firm’s FinTech practice. “In 2024, the SEC also focused on enforcement actions alleging market manipulation or failure to register as a broker-dealer.”
The report also compares the Gensler administration to that of Jay Clayton, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission during the first Trump administration (May 4, 2017 – December 23, 2020). Under Gensler (from April 17, 2021 to December 31, 2024), the SEC initiated 125 cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions, compared to 70 under Chairman Clayton. Of these cases, Chairman Gensler resolved 98 while Chairman Clayton resolved 50. The Gensler administration imposed $6.05 billion in fines, nearly four times the $1.52 billion imposed under Chairman Clayton.
“Despite the decline in the number of enforcement actions in 2024, cryptocurrency remained a top priority during Chairman Gensler’s final year,” said Simona Mola, report author and director of Cornerstone Research. “Since 2018, cryptocurrencies have represented, on average, approximately 6% of the SEC’s overall enforcement efforts in terms of actions initiated. We will be watching how enforcement might change in 2025, in light of the Cryptocurrency Task Force’s Recently announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The analysis also found that 66% of all enforcement actions brought under Chairman Gensler contained allegations of fraud, compared to 54% of actions brought under Chairman Clayton. Conversely, 71% of the Clayton administration’s actions contained unregistered securities violations, compared with 63% during the Gensler administration.
