For the past couple of years, America’s administration has been pushing major cryptocurrency schemes through its regulatory institutions. They are undertaking this endeavor in order to safeguard their citizens against the volatility of decentralized finance and acquire an understanding of it.
American regulators usually trigger their actions by demanding that companies dealing with digital money adhere to the necessary rules for their products and services. There is a long list of crypto companies that US regulatory agencies have cracked down on, but a few stand out. For example, there have been lawsuits against Uniswap and other decentralized protocols, Tornado Cash and other crypto mixing platforms, and major firms like Coinbase and Binance.
This suggests that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States has had significant disputes with digital asset firms at least since 2020, when it sued Ripple Labs for purportedly selling unregistered securities worth $1.3 billion. The SEC filed lawsuits against both Binance and Coinbase in early June of this year; however, the companies did not disclose the reasons for receiving regulatory notifications at that time.
Following the crackdown on Binance and Coinbase by two months, the founders of Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing firm, were charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ). They were accused of laundering criminal proceeds exceeding $1 billion.
In the interim, the founders of KuCoin are also the subject of a DOJ action for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act in March 2024. Uniswap Labs was also charged by the SEC without any additional information regarding the circumstances surrounding these events; however, based on their past performance, there is no reason to doubt their authenticity.
The DOJ charged the founders of Samourai wallet services, accusing them of enabling over $100 million in laundered funds, and then promptly shut down the website.
These incidents exemplify the persistent efforts of United States authorities to enforce regulations pertaining to compliance or illicit financial transactions involving cryptocurrency companies. Gary Gensler, in charge of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is advocating for increased compliance among digital asset companies to safeguard the American people from malicious actors and other adverse consequences associated with the trading of these financial instruments.
Notably, during this time period, Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) were charged with wilful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, resulting in the exchange paying a $4.3 billion fine and CZ resigning as CEO following a $50 million penalty.
Nevertheless, in spite of numerous crackdowns, the SEC has also authorized the introduction of Spot Bitcoin Exchange-traded funds within the United States, which has sparked a bull run and increased investor confidence in the future of cryptocurrencies in the United States.
