Crypto Companies Only Given 1% of Fines Issued in Traditional Finance

Media, news outlets and politics have often highlighted regulators’ actions against projects in the crypto space, thereby misrepresenting the industry. However, these fines issued are only a fraction of those traditional financial institutions had to deal with.

While both major banks and crypto exchanges have often been penalized for securities violations, data shows that enforcement actions from U.S. regulators against those in the crypto space has only been 1% of that in traditional finance. While from 2009 to early 2021, fines for crypto-related violations have been $2.5 billion in the United States, $332.9 billion in penalties were issued to banks, investment firms, and brokers in the last 20 years.

This according to platform, Good Jobs First, that analyzed 50 of the biggest fines issued to major banks, investment firms, and brokers over the last 20 years.

In this period, Bank of America had to pay roughly $82 billion in 251 different fines including securities violations. while JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup were also among the most notorious banks in the U.S. since 2000 with penalties of $35.9 billion and $25.5 billion respectively.

The largest regulatory action in the crypto space came from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Telegram’s 2018 initial coin offering. The company was ordered to pay $1.2 billion in disgorgement and $18.5 million in civil penalties in 2020 after it was charged for violating securities laws.

The largest fine issued in the traditional financial space was for Bank of America. The bank received a $16.6 billion fine from the U.S. Department of Justice for selling “toxic” mortgages related to the 2008 financial crisis.