Topic 20 stories, 86 agency actions, 2021–2026
The SEC and crypto
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto cases and settlements, with the stories and look-backs that covered them.
Every SEC crypto enforcement action since 2024, with the documents
2026
- SEC obtained consent final judgments against The Movie Studio and its CEO over an offering fraud that included blockchain misrepresentations.SEC
- SEC sued BG Wealth Sharing and DSJ Exchange over an alleged $130M crypto trading signals fraud that used false SEC filings.SEC
- SEC sues DEBT Box joint venture partners and principals over an alleged $200 million crypto offering fraud; some defendants settle.SEC
- SEC obtained final judgments against three BitConnect promoters for selling unregistered lending program securities and acting as unregistered brokers.SEC
- SEC sued four entities over alleged WhatsApp investment confidence scams using fake AI trading platforms that took at least $15 million.SEC
- Q3 2026 in US crypto enforcement: Goliath’s $425 million and a $61 million Iran forfeiture caseLook-back
- SEC sued a former Maryland resident over an alleged $1.5 million offering fraud; funds were allegedly used to buy cryptocurrency and lost.SEC
- SEC charges Goliath Ventures and its CEO over an alleged $425 million crypto liquidity pool Ponzi scheme; the CEO agreed to a bifurcated settlement.SEC
- SEC settles with a former New Jersey corrections officer over Blazar Token crypto offering and investment fraud schemes.SEC
- SEC filed a proposed settlement of crypto wash-trading manipulation claims against Gotbit Consulting and dismissed claims against its founder.SEC
- SEC filed partially settled charges against a Florida man and Mining Automatic over a $22 million purported crypto mining investment scheme.SEC
- SEC obtained default final judgments against four entities and two individuals over the alleged fake NanoBit crypto trading platform scam.SEC
- Q2 2026 in US crypto enforcement: a laundering service shut and OneCoin victims repaidLook-back
- SEC sued a Texas resident alleging he raised about $12.3 million from investors in a fake AI crypto trading bot scheme.SEC
- SEC settled with RYVYL, Inc. and its two founders over allegedly false claims of blockchain-based payment technology in public filings.SEC
- SEC sued a crypto token founder and two affiliated companies for allegedly defrauding investors in a $16 million SAFT offering.SEC
- Q1 2026 in US crypto enforcement: 22 actions, as SafeMoon’s chief is sentencedLook-back
- SEC filed a proposed settlement with Rainberry over TRX wash trading, with a $10 million penalty, and dismissed all remaining claims.SEC
- SEC filed a joint stipulation to dismiss with prejudice its civil action against Gemini Trust Company over the Gemini Earn program.SEC
2025
- US crypto enforcement in 2025: SEC actions fell to 26 as seizures rose to 28Look-back
- Q4 2025 in US crypto enforcement: 28 actions, the fewest of 2024 and 2025Look-back
- What happened after FTX: a 25-year sentence and $12.7 billion for victimsLook-back
- What happened after Terra: $4.5 billion to the SEC and 15 years for Do KwonLook-back
- SEC sued three purported crypto trading platforms and four investment clubs for allegedly misappropriating $14 million from retail investors.SEC
- SEC filed proposed final consent judgments against two former FTX executives and a former Alameda executive with injunctions and officer bars.SEC
- SEC charged Shima Capital and its owner with misleading investors in raising $169.9 million for crypto funds; both consented to settlements.SEC
- Q3 2025 in US crypto enforcement: the SEC brings 2 actions, and seizures leadLook-back
- An Alabama investment adviser settled SEC charges that he defrauded at least 15 clients of over $430,000 through Infinity Wealth Management.SEC
- What happened after the SEC sued Ripple: a $125 million penalty that stoodLook-back
- Court denied a former controlling shareholder's motion to dismiss SEC insider trading claims tied to Long Island Iced Tea's blockchain pivot.SEC
- Q2 2025 in US crypto enforcement: a record scam seizure and a 270-arrest darknet sweepLook-back
- What happened after Coinbase’s 2020 XRP frenzy: an SEC lawsuit, dropped in 2025Look-back
- SEC sued a start-up CEO for allegedly misleading a venture firm into a $500,000 investment in a claimed blockchain payment platform.SEC
- SEC sued Unicoin and three top executives, alleging false claims in crypto rights certificate offerings that raised over $100 million.SEC
- SEC filed a settlement agreement with Ripple and two executives proposing to cut the $125M penalty to $50M; the court declined, and the $125M judgment stands.SEC
- SEC dismissed with prejudice its civil enforcement action against a crypto promoter, citing its reformed approach to crypto regulation.SEC
- SEC dismissed with prejudice its civil enforcement action against Dragonchain entities and its founder via joint stipulation.SEC
- Nova Labs, creator of the Helium Network, consented to a final judgment and $200,000 penalty over misrepresentations to equity investors.SEC
- SEC sued the founder of PGI Global, alleging a $198 million crypto and forex fraud scheme that misappropriated over $57 million.SEC
- UAE crypto market maker CLS Global consented to a final judgment with a $425,000 penalty over alleged manipulation of NexFundAI.SEC
- SEC obtained a consent final judgment against a Latvian national over the fraudulent Denaro ICO and Innovamine crypto mining offerings.SEC
- Q1 2025 in US crypto enforcement: BitMEX fined $100 million as Garantex is shut downLook-back
- The SEC filed a joint stipulation with Kraken to dismiss, with prejudice, its civil enforcement action against the exchange.SEC
- The SEC filed a joint stipulation to dismiss with prejudice its civil enforcement action against Consensys Software Inc.SEC
- SEC filed a joint stipulation to dismiss with prejudice its civil enforcement action against crypto firm Cumberland DRW LLC.SEC
- SEC filed settled fraud charges against a Massachusetts man who raised $1.7 million for Forex trading via crypto; he will pay about $400,000.SEC
- The SEC filed a joint stipulation to dismiss its civil enforcement action against Coinbase Inc. and Coinbase Global Inc.SEC
- A court entered a consented final judgment against a blockchain company founder and Opporty International over an unregistered, misleading ICO.SEC
- SEC sued Nova Labs alleging unregistered crypto asset offerings and false claims about companies using its wireless network.SEC
- Digital Currency Group and a former Genesis CEO agreed to pay $38.5 million combined to settle SEC charges of misleading investors.SEC
- SEC charged a New York blockchain engineer with a rug pull of the Game Coin token; he agreed to settle without admitting the allegations.SEC
- SEC obtained a final judgment ordering Abra to pay a $1.65 million penalty over its unregistered crypto lending product Abra Earn.SEC
2024
- US crypto enforcement in 2024: 183 actions, 47 of them from the SECLook-back
- Tai Mo Shan agreed to pay $123 million to settle SEC charges it misled investors about TerraUSD stability and acted as an unregistered LUNA underwriter.SEC
- SEC filed a subpoena enforcement action against Cast Your Nets Ministries and affiliates in a probe involving an advertised crypto asset.SEC
- SEC sued Touzi Capital and its managing member for allegedly misleading investors in crypto mining fund offerings raising over $100 million.SEC
- SEC charges crypto market maker ZM Quant and two employees with allegedly manipulating markets for crypto assets through wash trading.SEC
- SEC sues crypto market maker Gotbit and an employee for allegedly manipulating the market for the Robo Inu crypto asset via wash trading.SEC
- SEC charges UAE market maker CLS Global and an employee with allegedly manipulating trading in the NexFundAI crypto asset.SEC
- SEC charged a California crypto promoter with manipulating markets for Saitama Inu and Robo Inu; she consented to a bifurcated settlement.SEC
- SEC sued Cumberland DRW for allegedly operating as an unregistered dealer in over $2 billion of crypto asset securities.SEC
- SEC charged three purported crypto market makers and nine individuals with manipulating markets for crypto assets sold as securities.SEC
- Rari Capital and its three co-founders consented to final judgments over unregistered crypto pool offerings and misleading yield claims.SEC
- Q3 2024 in US crypto enforcement: the SEC’s busiest quarter, with 20 of 44 actionsLook-back
- SEC settled charges against Mango DAO, Blockworks Foundation and Mango Labs over unregistered MNGO token sales and broker activity.SEC
- SEC sued a U.K. citizen alleged to have hacked five U.S. public companies and traded on earnings data, using bitcoin to hide his identity.SEC
- TrueCoin and TrustToken settled SEC charges over unregistered, misleadingly marketed TUSD stablecoin investment offerings.SEC
- SEC obtained a consented final judgment and $75,000 penalty against a Canadian man in Long Blockchain insider trading case.SEC
- Audit firm Prager Metis agreed to pay $745,000 to settle SEC charges of negligence in its audits of crypto platform FTX.SEC
- SEC settled charges against DeFi platform Rari Capital and its co-founders for misleading investors and acting as unregistered brokers.SEC
- SEC sued CoinW6 alleging a romance investment scam using a fake crypto trading platform that stole about $2.2 million from investors.SEC
- SEC sued four entities and three individuals over an alleged relationship scam using the fake NanoBit crypto trading platform.SEC
- eToro USA settled SEC charges of operating an unregistered broker and clearing agency for crypto trading, paying a $1.5 million penalty.SEC
- SEC sued an Alabama private fund manager alleging he misled investors in a fund that raised at least $852,000 in crypto assets.SEC
- SEC settled charges with crypto-focused adviser Galois Capital over custody rule failures and misleading redemption terms; $225,000 penalty.SEC
- SEC filed settled charges against Abra for unregistered offers and sales of its Abra Earn crypto lending product and operating as an unregistered investment company.SEC
- SEC charged two brothers and their firms with an alleged $60 million crypto arbitrage Ponzi scheme and obtained asset freezes.SEC
- SEC charged NovaTech, its two principals and six promoters over an alleged $650 million crypto investment fraud targeting 200,000 investors.SEC
- Ideanomics and three executives settled SEC fraud charges over misleading financials, including improper accounting for a crypto asset deal.SEC
- SEC sued the founder of BitClout, alleging fraud and an unregistered offering of the BTCLT token that raised over $257 million.SEC
- SEC obtained default judgments against two promoters of the $45 million CoinDeal unregistered offering fraud scheme.SEC
- Silvergate Capital and two former executives settled SEC charges of misleading investors about its AML monitoring of crypto customers.SEC
- SEC sued Consensys Software alleging unregistered securities offers via MetaMask Staking and operating as an unregistered broker.SEC
- Q2 2024 in US crypto enforcement: Cred, HashFlare and Samourai Wallet chargedLook-back
- An investment adviser and its president consented to final judgments and $425,000 in penalties over fraud including undisclosed loss of crypto assets.SEC
- Terraform Labs and its co-founder agreed to pay more than $4.5 billion to settle SEC fraud claims after a jury verdict on the UST collapse.SEC
- SEC obtained a court order enforcing an investigative subpoena to the issuer of LGBCoin, denying his petition to quash.SEC
- A federal court granted the SEC partial summary judgment finding a crypto influencer sold SPRK tokens in an unregistered securities offering.SEC
- SEC charged Texas crypto mining and hosting firm Geosyn Mining and its co-founders with an alleged $5.6 million fraudulent unregistered offering.SEC
- Court enters default final judgment ordering GA Investors, operator of fraudulent crypto investment websites, to pay over $1.1 million.SEC
- SEC obtained a consented final judgment against an ICO promoter, FLiK and CoinSpark over fraudulent initial coin offerings.SEC
- Q1 2024 in US crypto enforcement: 49 actions, from OneCoin’s lawyer to Bitcoin FogLook-back
- Genesis Global Capital agreed to pay a $21 million penalty to settle SEC charges over unregistered sales via the Gemini Earn crypto lending program.SEC
- SEC sued 17 individuals over their alleged roles in a $300 million CryptoFX crypto Ponzi scheme targeting Latino investors.SEC
- SEC obtained a default judgment against a friend of a former Coinbase manager for insider trading ahead of crypto listing announcements.SEC
- SEC obtained a court order enforcing investigative subpoenas against two top promoters of the NovaTech crypto asset investment program.SEC
- Court entered final judgments against two promoters of the CoinDeal blockchain investment scheme, ordering disgorgement and penalties.SEC
- TradeStation Crypto agreed to pay a $1.5 million SEC penalty to settle charges of offering an unregistered crypto lending product.SEC
- SEC settled fraud charges with a crypto course founder and his firm over a never-launched hedge fund that took $1.2 million from students.SEC
- SEC sued the founder and a top promoter of the HyperFund crypto pyramid scheme that raised over $1.7 billion; the promoter agreed to settle.SEC
- Court ordered Crowd Machine and Metavine to disgorge over $19.6 million from a fraudulent unregistered crypto token offering and pay penalties.SEC
- A California man consented to a final judgment and a $325,000 penalty for insider trading ahead of Long Blockchain's pivot announcement.SEC
2021
Hacks come from the hacks ledger and agency actions from the enforcement ledger, which starts in 2024. Every SEC action is listed. Being mentioned doesn't mean a company did anything wrong. Look-backs were written later and sit under the period they cover.