Whistleblowers are often thought of as public company insiders who report alleged wrongdoing like insider trading, market manipulation, submitting false or misleading company disclosures or other securities and commodities law violations. The emergence of the digital asset industry, and the expanding number of crypto companies using public-facing blockchains, has changed this paradigm. Now anyone with the time, skill, and inclination can audit every transaction on a public blockchain, and the concept of the “traditional” whistleblower has greatly expanded in this relatively unregulated space.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) have not only embraced this change but have specifically identified crypto whistleblowers as an important part of their regulatory and enforcement regimes. Efforts to crowdsource leads on potential crypto wrongdoing seem to be working, as crypto-related whistleblower tips reached an all-time high in 2022 and were among the top categories of tips received. This trend will likely continue in 2023, as members of this largely self-policing ecosystem decide to cash in on their investigatory prowess in the midst of heightened regulatory focus on crypto.
I. The SEC and CFTC Whistleblower Programs
The SEC and CFTC whistleblower programs were established in 2010 by Congress through the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act. These post-2008 financial crisis programs were intended to incentivize people to...
Times of Malta's editorial team has demanded that alleged money-launderer Chris Spiteri remove false claims posted on Facebook against journalist Jacob Borg. An alert has also been filed with the ...