A U.S. federal court has issued a permanent ban preventing Peken Global Limited, the operator of cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, from allowing U.S. participants to access its platform. The consent order, handed down by the District Court for the Southern District of New York, stipulates that Peken Global must register as a foreign board of trade before any U.S. access can be restored. The order also carries a $500,000 civil monetary penalty against the company, which is incorporated in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission originally filed suit in March 2024 against Peken Global and three related entities — Mek Global Ltd., PhoenixFin PTE Ltd., and Flashdot Ltd. The regulator alleged that the companies operated an unlicensed digital asset derivatives exchange, failed to register as a futures commission merchant, and did not implement an adequate customer identification program. The civil case targeted multiple arms of the KuCoin operation simultaneously.
The civil settlement follows a separate criminal resolution reached in January 2025, in which Peken Global pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. That plea resulted in a $112.9 million criminal fine and $184.5 million in forfeiture. The Department of Justice also required KuCoin to withdraw from the U.S. market for a minimum of two years as part of that agreement.
In the civil case, the CFTC stated it would not pursue disgorgement, pointing to Peken Global’s cooperation throughout the investigation and in related proceedings, including the parallel criminal action known as U.S. v. Flashdot Limited. The court additionally entered a voluntary dismissal with prejudice, effectively dropping all CFTC claims against the three other entities that had originally been named as defendants. This brings the civil litigation to a full close.
The resolution arrives shortly after the CFTC signed a coordination agreement with the SEC earlier this month, aimed at aligning oversight of financial markets and digital assets. Last week, the agency also announced an innovation task force focused on cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and prediction markets. The move reflects the Trump administration’s broader push to bring those sectors under the CFTC’s regulatory jurisdiction.
The agency’s renewed focus on emerging markets comes amid internal scrutiny, however. Reports surfaced roughly a month ago indicating that the CFTC’s Chicago enforcement team, widely regarded as the agency’s primary enforcement unit, had been significantly reduced in size. How that development may affect the agency’s capacity to pursue future cases in the digital asset space remains an open question.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
