Cornerstone Research data shows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took fewer crypto-related enforcement actions throughout Gary Gensler’s final year in leadership. A total of 33 crypto-related cases were launched by the agency in 2024 after their enforcement actions took a 30% drop from the 47 total cases in the previous year.
Record penalties despite fewer actions
Although enforcement activity decreased in 2024, penalties in the crypto sector reached an all-time high of $5 billion. The SEC settled its case with Terraform Labs for $4.5 billion, accounting for most of the high penalties in the field during that period. The year brought 90 defendants facing SEC crypto-related charges, with 33 companies and 57 individual defendants.
Since President Biden appointed Gensler in 2021, the SEC has launched crypto-related enforcement actions exceeding 80% compared to the cases initiated under Jay Clayton’s tenure from 2017 through 2020. SEC data showed that the agency conducted fifty percent of its enforcement actions during September and October yet initiated only four new cases following November’s elections.
According to Cornerstone’s examination, the principal culprits in these instances involved fraudulent operations and unregistered securities transactions with a combined frequency of 131 percent of all charges. The rates of market manipulation offenses and failure to register as broker-dealer offenses were simultaneously increasing, among other charges. The crypto space saw initial coin offerings (ICOs) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) lead 47% of enforcement actions since 2013.
New leadership signals a regulatory shift
The SEC chair position became vacant when Gensler left on January 20, 2025, enabling acting chair Mark Uyeda to lead the agency changes. As his first official act in office, Mark Uyeda discarded Staff Accounting Bulletin 121, which compelled financial institutions to display their digital currency holdings as balance sheet liabilities. Under the new leadership, the SEC is modifying its regulatory focus.
Concerns about future policies
Trump’s appointee, Uyeda, will fill in as SEC chair until Trump’s permanent appointment, Paul Atkin, completes the confirmation protocol. Lauren Compere from Boston Common Asset Management has voiced concerns about Uyeda’s statements suggesting companies could evade SEC regulatory standards. If approved as SEC chair, Paul Atkins is expected to guide regulatory standards in new directions because of his past critique of shareholder filing procedures.