This is an excerpt from SEC Cryptocurrency Enforcement: 2023 Update.
- Since the first action in July 2013, the SEC has brought a total of 173 cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions as of December 31, 2023, comprising:
- 108 litigations, and
- 65 administrative proceedings.
- In addition, the SEC has issued:
- 20 trading suspension orders pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Exchange Act, and
- 13 delinquent filing orders pursuant to Section 12(j) of the Exchange Act, along with a number of subpoenas, follow-on administrative proceedings, and one stop order.[1]
- With expanded resources at the Division of Enforcement’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit,[2] the SEC brought a total of 46 enforcement actions in 2023, a 53% increase compared to the 30 actions brought in 2022.
- In the first quarter of 2023, the SEC brought 20 cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions, the highest quarterly number of such actions brought in a single quarter.
- Of the 46 enforcement actions in 2023, 26 were litigations and 20 were administrative proceedings. Relative to 2022, the number of litigations slightly increased, while the number of administrative proceedings more than tripled.
- During 2023, the SEC also brought one follow-on action and issued one delinquent filing order.[3]
The 46 cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions brought by the SEC in 2023 represent the highest number of such actions brought by the SEC in a single year.
The views expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Cornerstone Research.