The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has revealed that most of the whistleblower tips it received this year were crypto-related.
CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero made this revelation on Oct. 31, while responding to the efforts of the financial regulator’s whistleblower program, which showed the agency received a total of 1,530 tips and paid $16 million to whistleblowers this year.
The CFTC announced that of the $16 million earmarked for whistleblowers, a substantial amount of more than $15 million was awarded to two individuals in September. These whistleblowers provided crucial information that culminated in the successful enforcement actions against undisclosed entities.
It was unclear whether these whistleblowers had provided information about crypto companies.
Meanwhile, the CFTC has taken several enforcement actions against several crypto-related companies, including leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance and several decentralized exchange platforms.
‘Widespread fraud and illegality’
The federal agency’s commissioner described crypto as an industry rife with “widespread fraud and other illegality.”
Over the past year, the crypto industry has faced increasing accusations that it is being used for illegal activities. While the crypto community has pushed back against these accusations, regulators around the world have been scrutinizing the sector to bring the nascent industry into compliance.
However, these actions have not been entirely successful, as malicious actors continue to find loopholes to circumvent this regulatory gaze.
According to Romero, CFTC’s Office of Customer Education and Outreach has played an important role in increasing financial literacy, especially regarding crypto scams. He said:
“With the rise of crypto, more retail customers have come under the jurisdiction of the CFTC, making the efforts of the CFTC’s Whistleblower Program and the Office of Customer Education and Outreach even more important. “
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