WASHINGTON, April 7 — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it made a “necessary course correction” in its approach to enforcing federal securities laws as they apply to crypto assets, as it released its fiscal year 2025 enforcement results on Tuesday, according to a press release.
The agency said the shift forms part of a broader effort to refocus enforcement on conduct that directly harms investors, particularly fraud and market manipulation, while moving away from prior approaches the Commission said were not sufficiently grounded in the federal securities laws.
Reframing of enforcement effectiveness
The Commission said fiscal year 2025 marked a transition in how enforcement effectiveness is measured, emphasizing investor protection and congressional intent rather than the number of actions filed or the size of monetary penalties obtained.
During the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2025, the SEC filed 456 enforcement actions, including 303 standalone actions and 69 follow-on administrative proceedings, and obtained orders for monetary relief totaling $17.9 billion, the agency said.
The Commission said that, after excluding “deemed satisfied” amounts and judgments related to its long-running litigation against Robert Allen Stanford and other defendants, the fiscal year 2025 total amounted to $1.4 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and $1.3 billion in civil penalties.
The agency also said it returned approximately $262 million to harmed investors, awarded about $60 million to 48 whistleblowers, and received a record 53,753 tips, complaints and referrals during the fiscal year.
Reassessment of prior crypto and dealer cases
The Commission said the transition period led to the resolution of prior cases that it said were not sufficiently grounded in the federal securities laws.
The SEC said that, since fiscal year 2022, the prior Commission had brought 95 actions and $2.3 billion in penalties against firms for book-and-record violations related to off-channel communications. Together with seven crypto firm registration-related cases and six “definition of a dealer” cases, those matters identified no direct investor harm, produced no investor benefit or protection, and reflected what the current Commission described as a misinterpretation of the federal securities laws and a misallocation of agency resources.
The agency said its current approach seeks to “re-establish the definition and measure of enforcement effectiveness,” grounded in Congress’s original intent and focused on bringing actions that prevent investor harm rather than actions that generate headlines and inflated numbers.
Pivot toward fraud-focused enforcement
The Commission said it has redirected enforcement priorities toward matters involving fraud, market manipulation and abuses of trust, which it said often require more time and resources to investigate and bring.
“Over the past year, the Commission has put a stop to regulation by enforcement and recentered its enforcement program on the Commission’s core mission by prioritizing cases that provide meaningful investor protection and strengthen market integrity,” SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said in the release.
The agency also said it has renewed its emphasis on holding individuals accountable. Of the standalone actions filed in fiscal year 2025, approximately two-thirds involved charges against one or more individuals, representing a 27% year-over-year increase, the Commission said.
Emerging technologies oversight
The Commission said it remains committed to detecting, deterring and bringing actions against those who seek to misuse new technologies to harm investors.
In February 2025, the SEC announced the launch of its Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit to complement the work of its Crypto Task Force and to address misconduct involving blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, account takeovers, cybersecurity and other areas, the agency said.
During fiscal year 2025, the Division charged Unicoin Inc. and four current or former executives over alleged false and misleading statements tied to offerings involving purported rights to receive Unicoin tokens and common stock, PGI Global founder Ramil Palafox over an alleged $198 million crypto asset and foreign exchange fraud scheme, and the founder and former chief executive of Nate Inc. over alleged false and misleading statements about the company’s use of artificial intelligence, according to the release.
Broader enforcement activity
The Commission said its fiscal year 2025 enforcement activity covered a broad range of misconduct, including offering frauds, market manipulation, insider trading, issuer disclosure violations and breaches of fiduciary duty by investment advisers.
The agency also highlighted trial and summary judgment victories in cases involving manipulative trading, fraudulent securities offerings and undisclosed conflicts of interest, and said it devoted significant resources to protecting retail investors, including in matters involving alleged Ponzi schemes and other frauds that the Commission said caused substantial investor losses.
