The firm said it remains a “supporter” of the crypto sector and suggested that the move was purely to avoid any potential regulatory non-compliance.
Retail trading platform eToro has halted purchases of Algorand (ALGO), Decentraland (MANA), Polygon (MATIC), and Dash (DASH) for customers in the United States in response to their labeling as securities in recent SEC lawsuits.
The move comes just a few days after competitor Robinhood also halted support for MATIC and two other SEC-deemed securities — Cardano (ADA), and Solana (SOL).
In a June 12 Twitter thread, eToro US noted that it had reviewed its crypto listings ”in light of the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape” and “recent developments” with the SEC.
eToro has a framework in place which reviews the cryptoassets we offer in light of the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. Due to recent developments, we will be making some changes to our crypto offering for US customers. (1/5)
— eToro US (@eToroUS) June 12, 2023
The assets were officially delisted as of 6:00 am ET on July 12, however, eToro US users will still be able to hold and sell these assets.
“We remain a supporter of crypto assets and believe in the importance of offering our users access to a diversified range of asset classes, which includes stocks, ETFs, and options. We are committed to working closely with regulators around the world to shape the future of the crypto industry and champion access for the ordinary investor,“ the firm stated.
The firm has essentially opted to err on the side of caution, given that the SEC has now asserted in lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase that major assets such as ADA, SOL, MATIC, MANA, ALGO, and several others are securities.
Related: Breaking: US lawmakers file ‘SEC Stabilization Act’ to fire Gary Gensler
Notably, eToro hasn’t mentioned anything about Solana or Cardano, which were also deemed as securities in the recent lawsuits.
interesting
— lightspeed mert | helius.dev (@0xMert_) June 12, 2023
eToro is removing Polygon and Algorand but not Solana pic.twitter.com/ZjigTmLmO0
This isn’t the first time eToro US has moved to halt access to certain assets in response to the litigation-friendly SEC. In December 2020, the firm also delisted Ripple (XRP) following the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs.
Magazine: Crypto regulation — Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?
