Regulatory bodies in the United States signed legal settlements exceeding $19 billion with cryptocurrency companies in 2024. According to a report by the cryptocurrency data platform CoinGecko dated October 9, these agreements account for nearly two-thirds of the total collections achieved to date. A significant portion of this amount is attributed to the FTX exchange and its affiliated trading company, Alameda, which agreed to pay $12.7 billion to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in August.
Record Legal Settlements in 2024
In 2024, the number of large legal settlements rose by 78% compared to the previous year, with eight major settlements recorded. While $10.87 billion was collected in 2023, this marks an astonishing increase of 8,327% compared to 2022. The total amounts calculated for the settlements included seized assets, refunds, fines, and their interest, but lawsuits filed against individual executives were not included in these figures.
According to CoinGecko research analyst Lim Yu Qian, the collapses of Celsius and Terraform Labs in mid-2022 heralded a shift from a bull market to a bear market in cryptocurrency. Following these collapses, the bankruptcy of FTX occurred, prompting U.S. regulators to increase oversight of the cryptocurrency sector. Terraform Labs signed a $4.47 billion agreement with the SEC related to the collapse of the TerraUSD (UST) algorithmic stablecoin in 2022, marking it as the second-largest legal resolution achieved in 2024.
Binance Settlement and Increased Regulatory Pressure
In August, Genesis reached a $2 billion settlement with the New York Attorney General’s office, marking the third-largest legal resolution of the year. Genesis had filed for bankruptcy in January 2023. Qian emphasized that regulators might reach new agreements by the end of 2024. Notably, in 2023, Binance stood out as a significant player, becoming the first cryptocurrency company to reach a billion-dollar settlement while still operating. In November 2023, Binance and former CEO Changpeng Zhao resolved lawsuits with the Department of Justice, Treasury Department, and CFTC by agreeing to comply with anti-money laundering requirements.
Since 2019, U.S. regulators have collected a total of $31.92 billion from cryptocurrency companies. As the year progresses, 2024 appears poised to be remembered for its intense scrutiny and legal settlements within the cryptocurrency industry.
