CFTC Resolves Actions Against Former Alameda CEO, and Alameda and FTX Co-Founder
AI Analysis
On August 19, 2026, the CFTC announced that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered supplemental consent orders resolving its enforcement actions against former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX and Alameda co-founder Gary Wang. The orders credit their material cooperation, require continued cooperation, and impose five-year trading bans plus registration bans of 10 years for Ellison and eight years for Wang, while the CFTC is not seeking restitution, disgorgement, or civil monetary penalties at this time.
Key dates
- 2022-12-23
- The SDNY entered the initial consent orders finding Ellison liable on two CFTC fraud counts and Wang liable on one fraud count; the trading and registration bans run from this date.
- 2026-08-19
- The CFTC announced entry of the supplemental consent orders, continued cooperation requirements, and final sanctions resolving its enforcement actions against Ellison and Wang.
Suggested considerations
- Compliance teams may wish to update individual sanctions, registration-eligibility, and trading-eligibility records for Ellison and Wang, using December 23, 2022 as the start date for the applicable bans.
- CFTC registrants should consider screening applicants, employees, directors, officers, consultants, and controlled-account traders against the specific five-year trading prohibitions and registration prohibitions before permitting covered activity.
- Firms should consider obtaining and reviewing the operative supplemental and initial consent orders to determine the precise scope of prohibited trading, registration, and cooperation-related provisions rather than relying only on the press release.
- Digital asset and derivatives firms may wish to retain evidence of due diligence and escalation decisions concerning former FTX or Alameda personnel, counterparties, and beneficial owners.
- Compliance teams may wish to assess whether the resolution's treatment of substantial cooperation and the absence of additional monetary relief creates a relevant precedent for internal investigations, voluntary cooperation, document preservation, and regulator-engagement protocols.
- Firms should continue treating the permanent antifraud injunctions under Commodity Exchange Act Section 6(c)(1) and CFTC Regulation 180.1 as conduct restrictions applicable to Ellison and Wang; the resolution does not create a general exemption from those provisions for other market participants.
- Affected firms may wish to coordinate CFTC, SEC, bankruptcy, and criminal-case screening because the CFTC sanctions are distinct from the SEC officer-and-director restrictions and the criminal forfeiture order.
What changed
The supplemental consent orders finalize the CFTC's actions against Ellison and Wang in conjunction with their initial December 23, 2022 consent orders. Ellison is subject to a five-year trading ban and a 10-year registration ban; Wang is subject to a five-year trading ban and an eight-year registration ban. Both must continue cooperating with the Commission and remain permanently enjoined from violating the antifraud provisions charged under the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. The bans run from the date of the initial consent orders rather than from August 19, 2026. The CFTC stated that it is not seeking restitution, disgorgement, or civil monetary penalties at this time, citing cooperation and the jointly and severally liable $11.020 billion criminal forfeiture order. Indepe
Compliance impact
The publication primarily affects the named individuals and firms that might employ, onboard, transact with, or permit them to conduct regulated derivatives activity; it does not impose a new rule or reporting obligation on the broader regulated population. Its principal compliance significance is the concrete eligibility-screening precedent, the permanent antifraud injunctions under CEA Section 6
Who is affected
Related regulations
References
AI-generated analysis. May contain errors or omissions — verify with the original CFTC source before acting. Full disclaimer.
What the CFTC said
No description available.
Published by CFTC . Read the full notice at the source for the authoritative text.