WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission escalated its enforcement campaign against the cryptocurrency industry with a settlement that could imperil a lucrative activity for other major crypto firms.

On 9 February, Payward's Kraken platform agreed to stop offering so-called crypto staking services in the US and pay $30m in penalties to the SEC. Staking allows investors to earn a yield by temporarily handing their crypto tokens over to either an intermediary or a cryptocurrency network.