The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has closed the book on two of the most consequential witnesses in the FTX collapse. In a CFTC enforcement resolution filed this week, the regulator entered supplemental consent orders against Caroline Ellison, the former chief executive of Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, who co-founded both Alameda and FTX. The orders impose five-year trading bans on both former executives and require them to keep cooperating with the agency, closing out a civil case that has run in parallel with their criminal prosecutions since late 2022.
Summary
Key takeaways
- The CFTC entered supplemental consent orders in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on August 19, resolving its civil case against Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang.
- Both received five-year trading bans; Ellison also got a 10-year CFTC registration ban, while Wang received an eight-year registration ban.
- The sanctions technically run from December 23, 2022, when the original consent orders were entered, not from this week’s filing.
- The CFTC is not seeking restitution, disgorgement, or civil monetary penalties from either defendant, citing their cooperation and an existing $11.02 billion criminal forfeiture order.
- Both are still required to continue assisting the agency going forward.
CFTC Resolves Enforcement Actions Against Ellison and Wang
The CFTC enforcement resolution formally ends a case that began when FTX imploded in November 2022 and the regulator expanded its fraud lawsuit against founder Sam Bankman-Fried to include his top lieutenants. The Southern District of New York entered the supplemental orders on August 19, according to the CFTC, wrapping up years of litigation against the two executives who eventually became the government’s most important cooperating witnesses.
Details of the Consent Orders
The new orders build on consent agreements Ellison and Wang originally entered on December 23, 2022, shortly after FTX’s collapse, when both admitted liability without contesting the underlying findings. Those earlier orders permanently barred them from violating the antifraud provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act. This week’s supplemental filings determine the remaining sanctions the court had left open at the time, effectively closing the CFTC’s enforcement actions against both former executives for good.
Trading and Registration Bans Imposed
Under the terms, Ellison cannot trade in CFTC-regulated markets for five years and is barred from registering with the agency for ten years. Wang received the same five-year trading ban but faces an eight-year registration ban rather than ten. Notably, the CFTC said both restriction periods run retroactively from December 23, 2022 — meaning a meaningful portion of each ban has already elapsed by the time the orders were finalized.
Profiles of Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang
Understanding why regulators treated these two so differently from Bankman-Fried requires looking at the roles they played inside the FTX empire — and the cooperation that followed its collapse.
Caroline Ellison’s Role at Alameda
Ellison served as chief executive of Alameda Research, the trading firm at the center of the fraud allegations. According to the CFTC’s December 2022 amended complaint, after becoming Alameda’s sole CEO, she allegedly directed the firm to use billions of dollars in FTX customer funds for trading on other exchanges and for investments in digital asset companies, while also making misleading public statements about the separation between FTX and Alameda. She was found liable on both fraud counts brought against her. Ellison later became a central witness against Bankman-Fried, received a two-year prison sentence in September 2024, reported to a federal prison in Connecticut that November, and was granted early release in January.
Gary Wang’s Role at FTX
Wang, who co-founded both FTX and Alameda, was accused of helping write code that gave Alameda an effectively unlimited credit line on FTX and let the trading firm bypass the exchange’s automatic liquidation process even when it lacked sufficient funds to cover its positions. He was found liable on the single fraud count against him. Prosecutors said Wang was the first member of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle to approach U.S. authorities in 2022, and his technical explanations of FTX’s internal systems proved central to the criminal case. He received a sentence of time served plus three years of supervised release.
Implications of the CFTC Enforcement Resolution
The way regulators structured this settlement says as much about the value of cooperation as it does about the underlying fraud findings.
Regulatory Significance of the Trading Bans
The trading and registration bans keep Ellison and Wang out of CFTC-regulated markets for years, but the agency stopped short of seeking any restitution, disgorgement, or civil monetary penalties from either defendant. The CFTC pointed to their assistance in its investigation and to the $11.02 billion forfeiture order already imposed in their parallel criminal cases, for which both are jointly and severally liable. That forfeiture sits alongside the $12.7 billion in disgorgement and restitution that FTX and Alameda themselves were ordered to pay affected users under a separate August 2024 decision — meaning the financial reckoning for FTX’s collapse has largely already been priced into the criminal side of the case rather than this civil resolution.
Cooperation and the Fraud Findings Behind the Sanctions
CFTC Enforcement Director David Miller was direct about the trade-off behind the lighter financial terms. “Ellison and Wang were senior executives who committed fraud at Alameda and FTX for which they were found liable,” Miller said. “Their sanctions, however, reflect their material assistance in the Commission’s FTX-related investigations.” Both continue to be bound by an ongoing duty to cooperate with the agency, a requirement that outlasts the trading bans themselves and underscores how heavily the government still relies on insider testimony as related FTX litigation, including a $54 million settlement reported in May 2026 involving law firm Fenwick & West, continues to work through the courts.
Ellison and Wang were both named as defendants in the CFTC’s original December 2022 complaint alongside Bankman-Fried, who was ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted at trial where both former executives testified against him. This week’s CFTC enforcement resolution closes that chapter for the two cooperating witnesses, even as the broader legal fallout from FTX’s collapse continues to ripple through civil courts nearly four years later.
FAQ
What enforcement actions did the CFTC resolve against Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang?
The CFTC resolved its civil case by entering supplemental consent orders imposing five-year trading bans on both, along with registration bans of 10 years for Ellison and eight years for Wang. The agency is not seeking additional financial penalties, citing their cooperation.
What roles did Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang have in the crypto industry?
Caroline Ellison was the former chief executive of Alameda Research, while Gary Wang co-founded both Alameda and FTX and served as the exchange’s chief technology officer.
Are Ellison and Wang allowed to trade in CFTC-regulated markets currently?
No. Both are subject to five-year trading bans that block them from trading in CFTC-regulated markets, with the restriction periods running retroactively from December 23, 2022.
Do Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang have further obligations after the enforcement resolution?
Yes. Both are required to continue cooperating with the CFTC even after the trading and registration bans expire.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.
