SEC Goes After Bittrex in New Enforcement Action, Says Algorand and Five Crypto Assets Are Securities
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged crypto exchange Bittrex and its co-founder and former CEO William Shihara with operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.
The SEC also charged Bittrex Global GmbH, Bittrex’s foreign affiliate, for failing to register as a national securities exchange in connection with its operation of a single shared order book along with Bittrex.
The SEC alleges that Omise Go (OMG), Algorand (ALGO), Dash (DASH), Tokencard (TKN), i-House Token (IHT) and Naga (NGC) are all securities in its complaint.
In a new press release, the SEC alleges that since 2014, Bittrex has facilitated the buying and selling of crypto assets in a way that violates securities laws.
From 2017 through 2022, Bittrex earned at least $1.3 billion in revenues, while servicing US investors as a broker, exchange, and clearing agency without registering any of these activities with the Commission, according to the SEC.
The complaint further alleges that Bittrex and Shihara coordinated with issuers to delete “problematic statements” from public channels that could lead a regulator, such as the SEC, to conduct investigations.
Says SEC Chair Gary Gensler,
“Today’s action, yet again, makes plain that the crypto markets suffer from a lack of regulatory compliance, not a lack of regulatory clarity…
As alleged in our complaint, Bittrex and issuers that it worked with knew the rules that applied to them but went to great lengths to evade them by directing issuer-applicants to ‘scrub‘ offering materials of information indicating that certain crypto assets were securities.
Further, Bittrex, as alleged, failed to register and comply with U.S. securities laws as an exchange, broker-dealer, and clearing agency. Cosmetic alterations did nothing to change the underlying economic realities of the offerings and Bittrex’s conduct. Today we’re holding Bittrex accountable for its non-compliance.”
Don’t Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get crypto email alerts delivered directly to your inbox
Check Price Action
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Telegram
Surf The Daily Hodl Mix
 
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any loses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.
Featured Image: Shutterstock/ProleR
The post SEC Goes After Bittrex in New Enforcement Action, Says Algorand and Five Crypto Assets Are Securities appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Go to Source
Author: Daily Hodl Staff
