U.S. Regulators Net $32B in Settlements, Exceeding XRP Cap

U.S. regulators, including the SEC and CFTC, have collected billions in settlements from cryptocurrency businesses so far this year alone.

Market tracking platform CoinGecko revealed this figure in a study published on October 10. The research shows that U.S. regulators have earned approximately $32 billion from crypto firms over the last five years, with $19 billion this year alone.

Settlement Figure Surpasses XRP Market Cap

This figure has garnered attention from market watchers, with commentators like Kashif Raza, founder of Bitinning, drawing striking comparisons. Specifically, Raza pointed out that the $32 billion paid by crypto firms exceeds the market cap of XRP, the seventh-largest cryptocurrency.

Crypto companies paid $19B in settlements to US regulators in 2024.

The US government has another $12.7 Billion worth of Bitcoin through seizures.

Their earning through crypto is $31.7 Billion—more than the market cap of $XRP alone.

— Kashif Raza (@simplykashif) October 14, 2024

XRP’s market cap currently stands at $30.96 billion, while its fully diluted market cap reaches $54.63 billion.

High-Profile Settlements in 2024

The largest portion of funds from enforcement actions came from the resolution with the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and its affiliate, Alameda. In August, the FTX estate settled its bankruptcy lawsuit with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for $12.7 billion.

Following closely is Terraform Labs, which agreed to a $4.5 billion settlement with the SEC in June 2024. Additionally, crypto asset firm Genesis offered a $2 billion settlement to the New York Attorney General in May.

Notably, Ripple, a crypto company using XRP for payments, was also ordered to pay $125 million in fines to the U.S. SEC. This figure could remain fixed, increase or decrease depending on the outcome of the appeal the SEC looks to file.

U.S. Regulatory Settlements Surge by 14,977% in Two Years

The total settlement value in 2024 has already surpassed last year’s by 78%, with eight settlements this year driving the increase. In comparison, all the eight settlements in 2023 resulted in $10.87 billion in fines, while 2024 has already brought in $19.45 billion.

Astonishingly, the settlement amounts have skyrocketed by 14,977% compared to 2022, when just two settlements, totaling $129 million, were recorded.

Among the defining settlements of 2023 was the U.S. Department of Justice’s $4.3 billion fine against the Binance exchange. Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, was only recently released from prison amid the enforcement actions.

CoinGecko research analyst Lim Yu Qian believes that, given the persistence of U.S. regulators, there may be a few more settlements before the end of 2024.