As opposed to traditional brokerage firms, most crypto exchanges offer trading services, provide custody, and also borrow and lend to customers, which is a combination of practices that are not permitted for SEC-regulated companies. One of the main concerns the SEC has with cryptocurrency exchanges is that they have no system of checks and balances. “In the course of an investigation, the staff may share its own view as to what conduct may raise questions for the commission under the securities laws,” the regulator added.įormer SEC attorney warns investors: Get out of crypto platforms now In response to the comments from Armstrong, the SEC told the FT its enforcement division did not make formal requests for “companies to delist crypto assets.” SEC Chair Gary Gensler has repeatedly stated that he believes most cryptocurrencies, with the exception of Bitcoin, are securities, and the request to Coinbase aligns with this perspective.Ĭuriously, Ether (ETH) was not mentioned in the request sent to Coinbase or in the lawsuits filed against the exchange or its competitor Binance, indicating the agency has yet to make a definitive decision on how it classifies the second-ranked crypto by market cap. Prior to the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance in June, the CFTC sued the world’s largest crypto exchange in March, highlighting the uncertainty around which regulator oversees the digital asset market. remains murky as both the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are vying for oversight of the crypto industry. The regulatory status of digital assets in the U.S. It kind of made it an easy choice… let’s go to court and find out what the court says.” “Delisting every asset other than Bitcoin, which by the way is not what the law says, would have essentially meant the end of the crypto industry in the US. “We really didn’t have a choice at that point,” he said. The regulator argued that by offering these products to customers, the exchange fell under the regulator’s jurisdiction.Ĭoinbase currently offers access to nearly 200 tokens, and this request from the SEC indicates that the agency is starting to push for wider authority over the crypto industry, despite the current legal confusion around the asset class, which was only exacerbated by the recent ruling that XRP is not a security.Īrmstrong said that if Coinbase agreed to the SEC’s recommendation, it would have set a precedent that could result in the majority of American crypto businesses operating outside the law unless they registered with the regulator. The SEC’s lawsuit also claimed that 13 tokens traded on Coinbase – Solana, Cardano, Polygon, Filecoin, The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, Chiliz, Flow, Internet Computer, Near, Voyager Token, Dash and Nexo – qualify as securities. And they said, we’re not going to explain it to you, you need to delist every asset other than Bitcoin.” “And, we said, well how are you coming to that conclusion, because that’s not our interpretation of the law. we believe every asset other than Bitcoin is a security,” Armstrong said. “They came back to us, and they said . . . Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked the exchange to halt trading all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin prior to filing a lawsuit against the exchange on June 6.Īccording to a report from the Financial Times (FT), Armstrong said the SEC made the request before it launched the legal action against Coinbase for allegedly operating its crypto asset trading platform as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency, and failing to register the offer and sale of its crypto asset ‘staking-as-a-service’ program. ( Kitco News) - Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the U.S. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |