Cryptocurrency Legal uncertainty regarding the units may cause many projects to face criminal sanctions, rightly or unjustly.
In this respect Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) It has imposed a large amount of criminal sanctions over the past eight years, while not providing clarity to investors and companies as to which action will result in criminal penalties.
Cornerstone Research, a consultancy company based in the USA and England, revealed in its latest research that the SEC imposed a penalty of $ 2.35 billion between 2013 and 2021.
SEC In these eight years, 97 case files were concluded, 58 of them judicial and 39 of them administrative cases.
Of the $2.35 billion penalty imposed, $1.71 billion was obtained from judicial cases and $640 million from administrative cases.
20 of the cases belong to 2021!
When we take a closer look at the year 2021, when the cryptocurrency market performed excellently, we see that 20 of the SEC lawsuits took place in 2021.
In its report, Cornerstone Research stated that 70% of these 20 cases resulted from initial public offerings (ICOs). The following statements were given regarding the other cases.
“Of the 20 lawsuits filed in 2021, 65% involved fraud allegations, 80% alleged unregistered securities supply violations, and 55% included both allegations.”
Finally, in the report, Abe Chernin, vice president of Cornerstone Research, said that certain market participants such as DeFi platforms in 2022 could face further scrutiny if the SEC continues to focus on the DeFi space.
The SEC also imposed its first penalty of 2022 on blockchain firm tZERO ($800,000) for trading off-market.