Crypto Industry Under Attack: US Regulators Take Record 58 Legal Actions in 2022

• The U.S. regulatory agencies SEC, CFTC, and FinCEN have taken 58 enforcement actions against crypto projects in the last year, a record-breaking number since 2013.
• The SEC has been the most active regulator in this space, having opened and won cases against LBRY and Ripple, among others.
• The CFTC has also seen an uptick of legal action against crypto projects with 19 cases in 2022.

U.S. Crypto Regulations on the Rise

The U.S. securities and commodities regulators have taken a total of 58 enforcement actions against crypto projects in the last year alone – shattering all previous records since 2013 and representing a 65% increase from 2021 numbers according to data shared by Solidus Labs.

SEC at the Forefront of Crypto Regulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been crypto’s biggest opposer over the past decade with 30 enforcement actions announced in 2022 alone – taking an approach of “regulation by enforcement” which could be detrimental to the nascent industry. Notable cases include those brought forward against peer-to-peer digital marketplace LBRY and payment company Ripple which are still ongoing as the Commission attempts to gain more jurisdiction over digital assets.

CFTC Joins Forces with SEC

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has also increased its legal action against crypto projects with 19 cases recorded in 2022 – suggesting an upward trend in these types of proceedings being brought forward within this sector.

FinCEN Sanctions Ethereum DEX

Although seeing only minor increments compared to other agencies, FinCEN made headlines when it added decentralized exchange Tornado Cash to its list of sanctioned entities – signifying a new line between companies/individuals and technologies that was previously uncrossed by regulators within this space.

BTC Trends Upward Despite Regulatory Pressure

Despite the pressure felt from regulatory bodies across the industry, Bitcoin continues to trend upwards on daily charts showing resilience even under increasing scrutiny from governing bodies worldwide making for a bright future for cryptocurrency markets as regulation matures along with technological advancements .