The DOJ “Led the Way” in Defining Boundaries for the Crypto Industry in 2023: Former US Prosecutor

cryptonews.com:

In 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) emerged as a leading force in defining the boundaries of the cryptocurrency industry through high-profile criminal prosecutions. 

While the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed civil lawsuits against major players in the sector, it was the DOJ that garnered attention with its rapid resolutions. 

Within a year, the DOJ secured the conviction of FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried and dethroned Changpeng Zhao, the former head of Binance. 

These criminal prosecutions brought a sense of reality to the industry and highlighted the DOJ’s role in shaping its boundaries.

Former federal prosecutors and legal experts have acknowledged the DOJ’s proactive stance in defining the crypto industry. 

“It is a lot more real than whether something is a security or not,” Widge Devaney, a former federal prosecutor, stated, highlighting the DOJ’s impact compared to the ongoing battles of the SEC in court. 

However, some have seen this as a missed opportunity for the SEC to assert its authority.

Many of the DOJ’s high-profile crypto indictments have been accompanied by parallel complaints from the SEC. 

Both agencies have brought cases against prominent figures in the crypto world, including Alex Mashinsky and Do Kwon. 

While the SEC has faced legal challenges and uncertainty over jurisdiction, the DOJ’s criminal prosecutions have seen notable success.

The SEC’s ongoing cases against Binance and Coinbase have faced opposition from the defendants, leading to a series of pre-trial motions. 

The SEC chose not to join a settlement between the DOJ and Binance, indicating its intention to continue fighting for the classification of tokens traded on the exchange as securities. 

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