30s Summary

The SEC has collected a record $8.2 billion from penalties in 2021, over half of which came from a settlement with Terraform Labs. Australia is considering adopting an OECD crypto reporting scheme to standardize tax data collection. In China, a judge has ruled owning cryptocurrency is legal. Meanwhile, Alexey Pertsev, creator of Tornado Cash, remains in pre-trial detention.

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) just set a new record for money collected from fines and penalties, thanks in part to a major settlement with crypto company Terraform Labs. On November 22nd, the SEC revealed that it has amassed a whopping $8.2 billion from fines, the largest amount it has ever gathered in a year.

Terraform Labs and their former CEO, Do Kwon, who shelled out a $4.47 billion settlement, contribute more than half of that sum! But without this massive settlement, the SEC would’ve only brought in around $3.72 billion—the smallest amount since 2013.

Meanwhile, Australia is seriously considering adopting an international crypto reporting scheme from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). With this plan, the goal is to standardize tax data collection for crypto transactions and make sharing this info between tax authorities easier.

In China, a Shanghai judge has declared that owning cryptocurrency is legally okay. The judge explains that while it’s not formally a currency, it is viewed as a virtual commodity that you’re allowed to own.

Lastly, Alexey Pertsev, creator of the cryptocurrency mixing protocol Tornado Cash, is going to remain in pre-trial detention a little longer. Despite getting on the wrong side of the law and the court’s decision making it harder for him to prepare his appeal, Pertsev is still determined to fight for justice.