SEC has ‘another highly productive’ year in crypto-related charges in 2023

The Securities and Exchange Commission reeled in the crypto industry in a “highly productive and impactful year” as it brought charges against big names in the sector and celebrities.

The SEC said it filed 784 total enforcement actions in the fiscal year 2023, up 3 percent from the year prior, with a staunch focus on threats it sees involving crypto. Of those hundreds of filings, the SEC charged crypto firms and individuals from Coinbase and Sam Bankman-Fried to celebrities such as Kim Kardashian.

“The investing public benefits from the Division of Enforcement’s work as a cop on the beat,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler in a statement. “Last fiscal year’s results demonstrate yet again the Division’s effectiveness — working alongside colleagues throughout the agency — in following the facts and the law wherever they lead to hold wrongdoers accountable.”

The SEC’s enforcement division recommended actions addressing a wide range from crypto fraud to unregistered crypto offerings and celebrities illegally touting crypto, according to the report.

Gensler has been consistent in his messaging that crypto firms need to register with the agency and has said most cryptocurrencies are indeed securities. Last week at DC Fintech Week, Gensler warned that there are still “multiple notorious fraudsters” in the sector.

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