Crypto Fines And Penalties Tracker: Who Got Fined, How Much And Why

Every Crypto Fine And Penalty

Each row links to the regulator's own press release or order. Amounts are in US dollars on the date of the action. Fines from other countries are converted at that day's exchange rate, and the original amount appears in the row details.

The Biggest Crypto Penalties

The largest penalties came from fraud cases after the 2022 crash, led by FTX and Terraform Labs, and from money-laundering cases against exchanges, led by Binance, OKX and KuCoin. Many of the largest amounts were ordered to repay customers through bankruptcy rather than paid to the government. Where that's the case, the row says so.

How We Count The Total

Headline totals can mislead in this area, because the same dollars often show up in more than one agency's announcement. Our total counts each action once and leaves out amounts that were never owed or paid, or that another agency's figure already includes:

• Counted: final orders, settlements, fines, forfeitures and restitution.
• Left out:
  • Dismissed or vacated cases: the SEC dropped several crypto cases in 2025, including Coinbase, Binance and Kraken. They stay on the list, marked dismissed.
  • Pending claims: the government has asked for money, but no court has ordered it yet.
  • Suspended judgments: an agency waived payment because the company was bankrupt.
  • Amounts credited against another agency's penalty: for example, Binance's 2023 resolution, where the Justice Department figure already includes credits for the FinCEN, OFAC and CFTC amounts.
  • Bankruptcy claims: an allowed claim in a bankruptcy case rather than cash paid, such as the New York Attorney General's $2 billion Genesis resolution.

Every row is labeled "counted" or "left out," with the reason, so you can see exactly what goes into the total.

FTX shows up twice. The CFTC's $12.7 billion civil judgment against FTX and Alameda and the Justice Department's $11.02 billion criminal forfeiture order against Sam Bankman-Fried are separate actions by two agencies over the same collapse, and we count both. Together they make up about 55% of the total, and some of the same dollars may be behind both. Without them, the total would be about $19.5 billion.

What They Were Fined For

• Anti-money-laundering and unlicensed money transmission: the most common reason, but only by one. It accounts for 43 of the 150 actions we track, compared with 42 for unregistered securities. Exchanges served customers without registering, or without checking who those customers were.
• Unregistered securities: mostly older token sales, plus crypto lending and staking products.
• Fraud: the largest dollar amounts, led by the collapse of FTX and Terraform.
• Sanctions: processing transactions for people in sanctioned countries.
• Misleading marketing and consumer protection: claims about safety, insurance or yields that weren't true.

Who Is Doing The Fining

In the US, the Justice Department and the CFTC account for most of the dollars, driven by a handful of very large cases. The SEC brought the most cases over the years, though the agency changed course in 2025 and dropped several pending ones. New York's financial regulator (NYDFS) and its Attorney General lead the states. Outside the US, regulators in Canada, the UK and Europe have mostly issued smaller fines, often over anti-money-laundering controls.

What This Means For Your Money

A fine doesn't always mean a platform is unsafe today, and a clean record doesn't guarantee safety. But enforcement history tells you a lot:

1. Check an exchange's record before you deposit. Search this tracker for any platform you use. Repeated money-laundering or customer-protection cases are a warning sign.
2. Watch for products that were ruled illegal. Several lending and "earn" products were shut down for US customers after enforcement actions, and some returned only after changes.
3. Customer repayment often comes through bankruptcy, not the fine. Money paid to a regulator usually doesn't go back to customers, unless the order includes restitution.
4. Regulatory risk cuts both ways. Cases get dropped, laws change and products come back. Our exchange ratings weigh each platform's legal record as it stands now.
5. If you were harmed, you can complain. Here's how to file a complaint against a crypto exchange.

How We Track Penalties

We build this list from the agencies' own announcements: the SEC, CFTC, Justice Department, FinCEN, OFAC, OCC, the Federal Reserve, the FTC, state regulators and attorneys general, and international regulators. We include crypto-related actions of $1 million or more since 2014, plus smaller ones that set an important precedent.

When agencies report different amounts for the same case, we use the figure in the final order and note the difference. When a case is dismissed, settled on appeal or vacated, we update its status rather than deleting it. Penalties without a dollar amount, such as sanctions designations, are listed with a zero amount and explained in the row. If you spot an error or a missing case, contact us.

FAQ

What Is The Largest Crypto Fine Ever?

The largest single action in our tracker is the CFTC's $12.7 billion court judgment against FTX Trading and Alameda Research on Aug. 8, 2024. By amount ordered, the FTX and Terraform cases lead the list, and much of those amounts goes to customers through bankruptcy rather than to the government. The largest fine or settlement actually paid to US authorities was Binance's $4.32 billion guilty plea with the Justice Department in 2023, a criminal fine plus forfeiture. Sam Bankman-Fried's $11.02 billion forfeiture order is larger, but it is a forfeiture rather than a fine, and an order is not the same as money paid.

Did The SEC Drop Its Crypto Cases?

Several of them. In 2025, the SEC dismissed or ended a number of pending crypto cases, including those against Coinbase, Binance and Kraken. We keep those cases on the list, marked dismissed, and count no money for them unless some was actually paid.

Do Fines Go Back To Customers?

Usually not. Civil penalties and criminal fines go to the government. Customers get money back through restitution orders, disgorgement funds or bankruptcy distributions, which we note in each row where they apply.

Which Crypto Exchanges Have Been Fined?

Exchanges fined by US or international regulators include Binance, OKX, KuCoin, BitMEX, Bittrex, Poloniex, Kraken, Coinbase and Gemini, among others. Use the search box in the table above to see each one's full record.

Are These Fines Still Being Paid?

Some are paid in installments, and others depend on bankruptcy recoveries. The status column shows whether an action is final, under appeal, pending, dismissed or vacated.