The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it had raised and…
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it has filed and settled charges against cryptocurrency brokerage Falcon Labs for approximately $1.8 million in fines and penalties.
In a May 13 notice, the CFTC said Falcon Labs, owned by FalconX, failed to register as a futures commission merchant and “improperly facilitates access to digital asset exchanges.” The settlement requires FalconX to stop providing services to US residents and pay approximately $1.2 million in fines and $600,000 in civil money penalties.
“The CFTC’s enforcement program has made clear that it will not tolerate digital asset exchanges that fail to register with the CFTC or comply with the agency’s rules that maintain integrity in derivatives markets,” said Enforcement Director Ian McGinley. “And now the CFTC is taking the fight one step further by charging a broker who improperly facilitated access to those exchanges.”
The settlement alleged that FalconX facilitated digital asset derivatives orders for US users from October 2021 to March 2023 through its “Edge” product. According to the CFTC, the brokerage voluntarily improved its practices following the lawsuit it filed with Binance and former CEO Changpeng Zhao. In this case, the CFTC and other US authorities settled for $4.3 billion in November 2003.
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The regulator said FalconX provided “substantial cooperation and remediation,” which resulted in the company receiving a lower penalty. The CFTC order included that the company did not “admit or deny” any of the findings or conclusions reached by the regulator. Cointelegraph reached out to FalconX but had not received a response at the time of publication.
On May 6, CFTC Chairman Rustin Behnam said that cryptocurrency companies operating in the US can expect “another round of enforcement actions” within two years. The Commodity Regulatory Authority has brought 47 enforcement actions against cryptocurrency companies in 2023.
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