Block.One Slapped With $24M Fine

"Proactive crypto enforcement will countinue from the SEC and other regulators. I expect the number of settlements and cases to continue to increase. Many people are not aware of all of SEC investigations taking place in private, which will generally result in public announcements regarding settlements or court cases filed as the SEC works through those investigations."

One the SEC's settlement is arguably setting a poor precedent for regulation in the industry.

Despite its tougher stance on the industry's coin offerings and its declaration of tokens as securities, the SEC has missed a golden opportunity to follow its words with actions, to the delight of the crypto firms.

"Some portion of the ICO started before the DAO Report, which the SEC uses as a gauge for the time when people should have been on alert that an ICO could violate securities laws. I also think that people who are concerned that the small settlement payment will incentivize bad behavior are ignoring the fact that at any time the SEC could seek to be more aggressive in its settlements and impose greater penalties. That possibility is enough to hold back most people from trying to get away with a token sale on the assumption that the resulting penalty will not be great."

In the end, the SEC seems to have fumbled on the Block.

The official documentation provided by the SEC essentially accuses the company of making no tangible effort to block U.S. investors from participating in the exchange.

As the SEC begins to build its regulatory framework it is likely that many more companies in the sector will come out of the process with similar settlements.

"Regardless of whether SEC enforcement goes up or down, I think you'll see greater scrutiny of crypto projects by other agencies, particularly given recent Congressional hearings that have been very skeptical of crypto. Crypto companies will need to continue to tread carefully in dealing with DC regulators."

The SEC already has other companies in its sights, and the outcomes are looking mixed for the companies in question.

The SEC has a complicated history with companies that break the law, and it seems the blockchain sector will be no different.