The regulatory crackdown on crypto in the US has certainly intensified with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against and , but our timeline shows that the crisis has already been ongoing for a long time.
These are the major incidents that shaped crypto in 2022 and so far in 2023:
2022
May 9: USD-pegged stablecoin price, triggering a sell-off and losing $40 billion in value.June 12: Crypto lender after a run on deposits and what it called “extreme market conditions.”June 17: Babel Finance, a crypto lender based in Hong Kong, suspended withdrawals, citing “.”June 27: Crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), which was heavily invested in TerraUSD, to crypto lender Voyager Digital.June 29: A British Virgin Islands after creditors sued the hedge fund for alleged failure to repay debts.July 5: protection under Chapter 11, saying it wants to “maximize value for all stakeholders” after facing a bank run.November 8: Major Bahamas-based crypto exchange after experiencing a liquidity crunch.November 9: , saying the issues are “beyond our ability to help.”November 11: protection.November 28: US-based crypto lender .December 12: FTX CEO following formal notification by the US. He is later .December 22: Sam Bankman-Fried is , but ordered to remain in house arrest with his parents in California.
2023
January 12: The , saying both firms sold “unregistered securities.”January 18: Crypto news site as its owner Digital Currency Group (DCG) faces liquidity issues.January 19: Crypto lender protection.February 16: The with misleading US investors who purchased his cryptocurrencies. Kwon’s whereabouts remained unknown at the time, despite him being wanted by multiple countries.February 23: US prosecutors issued a new indictment against FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried that included .February 28: FTX co-founder , and reportedly cooperates with prosecutors to build a case against Sam Bankman-Fried.March 1: The US-based and crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital said it is .March 22: The as the regulatory crackdown on crypto continued.March 23: Terra founder while trying to leave the country using a forged passport, and was .March 27: The for offering unregistered crypto derivatives to US traders.March 28: Prosecutors accuse to gain access to frozen funds.May 8: most of the criminal charges in the case against him, arguing they were “dramatic” and turned “civil and regulatory issues into federal crimes.”May 12: , allowing him to leave prison and remain under house arrest while awaiting trial.June 5: and its CEO Changpeng Zhao for operating an unlicensed securities exchange in the US and “blatant disregard” of its rules.June 6: The just a day after Binance was sued, with the regulator saying Coinbase operated illegally without registering as an exchange and offering unregistered securities.