At the same time, another source of legal risk has become more prominent: private litigation.
As regulatory enforcement receded, plaintiffs’ lawyers have stepped into the vacuum, pursuing claims that extended far beyond what had been brought against traditional defendants. Longo pointed to the multidistrict litigation arising from the collapse of FTX as a preview of what may lie ahead.
FTX, once one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 after a liquidity crisis exposed allegations of widespread fraud. In the MDL, plaintiffs did not limit their claims to FTX’s executives. They sued investors, law firms, accountants and celebrities who appeared in promotional materials—anyone who could plausibly be linked to the alleged harm.
The case illustrated a broader shift moving into 2026, attorneys said. As crypto markets mature, so does the crypto plaintiffs’ bar. And as statutory clarity reduces some forms of uncertainty, it creates others, such as how wide liability can spread when things go wrong.
Source: Why Crypto Lawsuits Are Unlikely to Stop Soon| Law.com