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Over 20% of Cases in the CFTC's 2022 Crackdown Involved Cryptocurrency

Flexi Group

In 2022, more than twenty percent of the CFTC's enforcement actions featured cryptocurrency, according to its annual enforcement data.

In fiscal year 2022, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) brought 82 enforcement proceedings, 22% of which were against crypto-related organisations.


According to the Thursday release of the federal regulator's annual enforcement report, the CFTC celebrated a number of significant victories throughout the fiscal year, including the filing of charges against Tether and Bitfinex, who settled for a total of $42.5 million in October.


The CFTC's report also highlights some of its other high-profile actions, many of which remain unresolved, including charges against decentralised finance (DeFi) exchange Digitex, which it accuses of operating an illegal futures market, and against anonymous members of Ooki DAO, who are accused of providing illegal, off-exchange tokenized margin trading and lending services.



While many in the crypto business view the CFTC as the "good cop" of crypto regulation and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the "bad cop," CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam is keen to shed his agency's reputation for lax enforcement of crypto criminality.


"In the face of extraordinary financial market conditions directly harming American consumers, increasing technology change, and rising retail investor involvement, the CFTC continues its unshakable commitment to a vigorous enforcement programme," Behnam wrote in a press release.


“This FY 2022 enforcement report shows the CFTC continues to aggressively police new digital commodity asset markets with all of its available tools. I personally thank the Enforcement Division’s hardworking and dedicated leadership team and staff,” he said.


Behnam has claimed that, over the previous decade, his agency had generated over $1.5 billion each year in fines from its enforcement activities, which he characterised as a "excellent return on investment" for an annual budget of approximately $240 million.


"That's pretty good for the taxpayer, and that's what my response is to anyone who says we're a light-touch regulator," he said last week.

By fLEXI tEAM

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