United States regulators have secured over $19 billion in lawsuit settlements from cryptocurrency companies in 2024, representing nearly two-thirds of all settlements to date.
An October 9 report from CoinGecko revealed that the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and its affiliated trading firm Alameda accounted for the majority of these settlements, paying $12.7 billion to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in an August agreement.
Across eight settlements in 2024, regulators collected 78% more than in 2023, when $10.87 billion was paid. This marks a staggering 8,327% increase in settlement values compared to 2022.
The past two years have seen more settlements with regulators than all previous years combined.
The total settlement amounts included forfeiture, disgorgement, civil penalties, and prejudgment interest but excluded individual lawsuits against executives. According to CoinGecko research analyst Lim Yu Qian, the collapse of Celsius and Terraform Labs in mid-2022 were “key events” that shifted the market from a crypto bull run to a bear market, ultimately leading to FTX’s collapse and increased regulatory scrutiny in the U.S.
Terraform Labs reached the second-highest settlement in 2024, paying $4.47 billion to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST). Genesis followed with a $2 billion settlement with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2023.
Regulator activity has intensified over the last two years, and Qian anticipates more settlements before the end of 2024. She stated, “Even with a few months left in the year, 2024 has already recorded a 78.9% increase in settlement value compared to 2023.” She added that given regulators’ persistence, 2024 could surpass last year’s record.
One significant settlement in 2023 involved Binance, marking the only billion-dollar settlement with an operating crypto company. Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, agreed to plead guilty to charges related to Anti-Money Laundering violations to resolve lawsuits with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Treasury Department, and CFTC.
Since 2019, U.S. regulators have collected approximately $31.92 billion in settlements from cryptocurrency companies.