The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that two former executives tied to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX will face multi-year trading and registration bans but will not be subject to financial penalties under a settlement filed in federal court in Manhattan.
Caroline Ellison, who served as chief executive officer of Alameda Research, was given a five-year ban from trading and a 10-year bar from registering with the CFTC. Gary Wang, a co-founder of FTX, received a five-year trading ban and an eight-year prohibition from registering with the agency.
The CFTC said it declined to pursue fines or demand the return of alleged illegal profits, citing the cooperation provided by Ellison and Wang during its investigation. In a statement, CFTC Enforcement Director David Miller emphasized the value the division places on cooperation.
"Today’s resolution further underscores the high value this division places on robust cooperation," David Miller said.
The settlement resolving the regulator’s claims was approved by the court and was filed in federal court in Manhattan. It is connected to the broader legal and financial fallout from the 2022 collapse of FTX. Prosecutors have described a multi-year fraud tied to the exchange that, according to their filings, removed billions of dollars from customers, investors and lenders.
Sam Bankman-Fried, who led the exchange, is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence after a conviction that he unsuccessfully sought to overturn earlier this year. Ellison and Wang both pleaded guilty to charges arising from the collapse. Ellison was sentenced in 2024 to two years in prison; Wang pleaded guilty but did not receive a prison term. Both served as prosecution witnesses in the case against Bankman-Fried.
The CFTC's treatment of Ellison and Wang mirrors a previous enforcement action involving another former FTX employee. In April, the regulator said former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh would be required to return $3.7 million in alleged illegal profits and would face a temporary registration and trading ban.
The CFTC’s resolution with Ellison and Wang leaves intact the trading and registration prohibitions imposed on the two individuals while forgoing monetary sanctions in recognition of the cooperation the agency said they provided. The settlement is one piece of a broader set of legal outcomes tied to the collapse and subsequent prosecutions surrounding FTX.