US government collects $3.19 billion in fines from the crypto industry, FTX hit the hardest, while Binance emerges as the sole survivor

According to an analysis report by CoinGecko, starting from 2019, US regulatory agencies have obtained a total of $31.92 billion in settlement funds from lawsuits involving multiple cryptocurrency companies.

FTX and Alameda Together Pay $12.7 Billion, Becoming the Fine Kings

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its sister institution Alameda reached a settlement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in August 2024, paying a record-breaking settlement amount of up to $12.7 billion, making it the largest penalty in the crypto industry since 2019. This money will be used to repay FTX's distressed and creditors' debts amounting to $11.2 billion.

The $12.7 billion judgment obtained by the CFTC against FTX and Alameda will be used to compensate victims.

Celsius, Terraform Labs, and Binance Take the Top Four Spots

In 2022, the collapses of Celsius and Terraform Labs marked the beginning of the bear market, ultimately leading to the dissolution of FTX, prompting strict regulation of the crypto industry by the U.S. government. In 2024, Celsius paid $4.7 billion, Terraform Labs paid $4.5 billion in settlement, while Binance paid $4.3 billion in 2023, becoming the only company still in operation but required to pay such a high settlement amount.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined the bankrupt company Celsius Network $4.7 billion, and its former CEO was arrested.

Frequency of Cryptocurrency Companies Being Fined and Settling Soars

In the past two years, the fines and settlement amounts imposed by U.S. regulatory agencies on the crypto industry have surged. Since the collapse of FTX in 2022, there have been a total of 16 significant settlement cases in 2023 and 2024, with the amounts increasing year by year. In 2024 alone, there was a 78.9% increase in fines, demonstrating the U.S. government's regulatory efforts in the crypto industry. Since 2019, the U.S. government has collected over $31.9 billion in fines from the crypto industry.

Classic Fine Cases from 2019 to 2022

The enforcement of the U.S. on the crypto industry began in 2019 when the SEC fined Block.one, the issuer of EOS, $24 million. Following that, in 2020, Telegram was fined $1.24 billion for issuing Gram tokens without registration.

In 2021, amidst the cryptocurrency boom, stablecoin issuer Tether paid a $18.5 million fine for misreporting USDT assets. Exchanges like Poloniex and BitMEX were also fined consecutively, and in 2022, BlockFi and Bittrex paid fines of $100 million and $29 million, respectively, as U.S. regulations become increasingly stringent.

The CFTC fined Tether and Bitfinex a total of $42.5 million.