Whistleblower Who Provided SEC With "Critical Information" to Receive $82 Million Award

SEC Issues Awards Totaling $98 Million to Two Whistleblowers

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced awards of more than $98 million to two whistleblowers whose information and assistance led to an SEC enforcement action and an action brought by another agency.

The first whistleblower’s tip prompted the opening of the investigations, and thereafter provided critical additional information and ongoing assistance. As a result, this whistleblower will receive an award of $82 million. The second whistleblower, whose information was provided later, significantly contributed to one aspect of the actions and will receive an award of $16 million.

Kraken Must Face SEC Suit Over Crypto Exchange Registration

Cryptocurrency platform Kraken must face a US Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing it of operating an unregistered securities exchange, a judge ruled. “The SEC has plausibly alleged that at least some of the cryptocurrency transactions that Kraken facilitates on its network constitute investment contracts, and therefore securities, and are accordingly subject to securities laws,” US District Judge William H. Orrick wrote in an opinion published Friday in San Francisco federal court.

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The judge said the SEC’s labeling of Kraken tokens as “crypto asset securities” is “unclear at best and confusing at worst.” Orrick went on to say that he’s reading the agency’s claims to be focused on assets offered as part of investment contracts, and not as allegations that individual cryptocurrency tokens are themselves securities.

Private Equity Firm Broadstreet Sues to Stop SEC Investigation

Private equity firm Broadstreet Inc. asked a Texas federal court to block a Securities and Exchange Commission probe into the firm’s real-estate development plans.

Broadstreet’s targeted activities don’t “fall within the scope” of the SEC’s authority to regulate securities, the complaint, filed Thursday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, said. Broadstreet “does not offer any securities or conduct business within the securities industry,” it said.

Crypto industry accounts for almost half of corporate donations in 2024 election, report says

Nearly half of all the corporate money flowing into the election has come from the crypto industry, according to a report this week from the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen. The sum, approximately $119 million, was raised from a mix of contributors, with Coinbase and Ripple accounting for more than 80% of the donations.

Wyoming is pushing crypto payments, trying to beat the Fed to a digital dollar

As crypto investing becomes more mainstream and institutionalized with bitcoin ETFs, Wyoming is already pushing into the next phase of growth for crypto: consumer payments.

The state is creating its own U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, called the Wyoming stable token, which it plans to launch in the first quarter of 2025 to give individuals and businesses a faster and cheaper way to transact while creating a new revenue stream for the state. The group behind it is hoping it can serve as the model for a digitized dollar at the federal level.