SEC Cryptocurrency Enforcement Activity

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This is an excerpt from SEC Cryptocurrency Enforcement: 2023 Update.

  • Since the first action in July 2013, the SEC has brought a total of 173 cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions as of December 31, 2023, comprising:
    • 108 litigations, and
    • 65 administrative proceedings.
  • In addition, the SEC has issued:
    • 20 trading suspension orders pursuant to Section 12(k) of the Exchange Act, and
    • 13 delinquent filing orders pursuant to Section 12(j) of the Exchange Act, along with a number of subpoenas, follow-on administrative proceedings, and one stop order.[1]
  • With expanded resources at the Division of Enforcement’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit,[2] the SEC brought a total of 46 enforcement actions in 2023, a 53% increase compared to the 30 actions brought in 2022.
  • In the first quarter of 2023, the SEC brought 20 cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions, the highest quarterly number of such actions brought in a single quarter.
  • Of the 46 enforcement actions in 2023, 26 were litigations and 20 were administrative proceedings. Relative to 2022, the number of litigations slightly increased, while the number of administrative proceedings more than tripled.
  • During 2023, the SEC also brought one follow-on action and issued one delinquent filing order.[3]

The 46 cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions brought by the SEC in 2023 represent the highest number of such actions brought by the SEC in a single year.

Figure 1: Number of SEC Cryptocurrency Enforcement Actions, Trading Suspensions, Delinquent Filings, and Stop Orders
2013–2023

Source: SEC.gov

Note: Dates represent the filing date of the complaint or order instituting cease-and-desist proceedings under Section 8A of the Securities Act, Section 21C of the Exchange Act, and/or Section 203(e) and 203(k) of the Investment Advisers Act. For trading suspensions and delinquent filings, the filing date is the date of the order instituting administrative proceedings pursuant to Section 12(k) and Section 12(j) of the Exchange Act, respectively. For stop orders, the filing date is the date of the order instituting administrative proceedings pursuant to Section 8(d) of the Securities Act. Subpoenas and follow-on administrative orders are excluded from the figure.

[1] For example, the SEC filed a subpoena enforcement action against Saint James Holding and Investment Company Trust and its sole trustee, Jeffre James. See SEC, “SEC Files Subpoena Enforcement Against Investment Company Trust and Trustee for Failure to Produce Documents,” October 9, 2018, https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2018/lr24308.htm. See also In the Matter of Daniel T. Levine, September 13, 2019, https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2019/34-86962.pdf. The SEC barred the respondent after the Colorado Securities Commissioner revoked his sales representative and investment adviser representative licenses in Colorado. The SEC also issued one stop order against American CryptoFed DAO LLC pursuant to Section 8(d) of the Securities Act, seeking to stop the registration of the offer and sale of two crypto assets due to misleading information allegedly contained in the registration statement on Form S-1 filed by American CryptoFed. See In the Matter of The Registration Statement of American CryptoFed DAO LLC, November 18, 2022.

[2] The Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, formerly known as the Cyber Unit, is part of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. SEC, “SEC Nearly Doubles Size of Enforcement’s Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit,” May 3, 2022, https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2022-78.
[3] The follow-on action is In the Matter of Michael Ross Kane, May 18, 2023, https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/admin/2023/ia-6310.pdf. The delinquent filing order is In the Matter of BIGtoken Inc. (f/k/a Force Protection Video Equipment Corp.), May 25, 2023, https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/admin/2023/34-97592.pdf.

The views expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Cornerstone Research.

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