A tipster that alerted U.S. derivatives regulator the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to misconduct in the crypto sector is going to be US$1 million richer as a result.
The CFTC awarded over US$1 million to a whistleblower who provided the regulator with “significant information and assistance” that led to a successful enforcement action involving “improper trading that was unknown to the CFTC” in the digital assets market.
In its order detailing the award, the CFTC said the whistleblower tip was “critical” in causing it to open an investigation, which ultimately led to the enforcement action, based in part on the conduct reported in the initial whistleblower tip.
That tip also led to the discovery of other misconduct, although the regulator’s ultimate allegations didn’t precisely track the information provided by the whistleblower.
“Identifying unlawful conduct in the digital asset marketplace is a major priority for the CFTC, especially as everyday Americans are increasingly victimized by digital asset scams,” said Ian McGinley, director of enforcement with the CFTC, in a release.
“During the last fiscal year, digital asset cases accounted for almost 50% of the CFTC’s docket, and the majority of whistleblower tips that year were related to digital assets,” he said.
According to the CFTC’s order, five other people also sought whistleblower awards in this case. While three of them withdrew their claims, two others were denied by the regulator.
In denying the two other purported whistleblowers, the regulator’s order noted that their tips didn’t contribute meaningfully to the case, since the tips didn’t cause the CFTC to open its investigation, some of the information provided duplicated information the regulator already received from the first whistleblower, and the original information provided didn’t result in specific enforcement allegations.
To date, the CFTC’s whistleblower program, which granted its first award in 2014, has paid approximately US$380 million to tipsters in connection with enforcement cases that have resulted in nearly US$3.2-billion worth of monetary sanctions.