← Go back Aug 08, 2023
NEWSLETTER SIGNUP My account Log Out Aug 11, 4:20 AM EDT Business Technology World National Politics Media & Culture Opinion Sports Social Capital Crypto NEWSLETTER My account Log Out US Edition Business Technology World National Politics Media & Culture Opinion Sports Social Capital Crypto Listings & More Spotlight Glossary Editions Australia Edition India Edition International Edition Singapore Edition United Kingdom United States NEWSLETTER Follow Us Editions Australia Edition India Edition International Edition Singapore Edition United Kingdom United States Crypto Crypto Business Bittrex, Sued By SEC For Operating Unregistered Crypto Exchange, Settles Charges For $24M By Nica Osorio @nicaIBTimes 08/11/23 AT 3:19 AM EDT Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit Share on Flipboard Reuters Bittrex, the Seattle-based crypto asset trading platform founded in 2014, along with its co-founder and former CEO William Shihara as well as Bittrex Global Gmbh, the company's foreign affiliate, has agreed to settle charges filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). "Today's settlement makes clear that you cannot escape liability by simply changing labels or altering descriptions because what matters is the economic realities of those offerings. I am grateful to the SEC staff for aggressively pursuing non-compliance in the crypto industry, resolving this matter, and bringing additional relief to harmed investors," Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said in a press release. On April 17, the major Wall Street regulator filed a lawsuit against Bittrex and its CEO at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. In May, Bittrex filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. The SEC alleged that the crypto exchange platform operated as an "unregistered broker, exchange, clearing agency" by offering supposed unregistered securities crypto assets and other related services to U.S. investors. Further, the financial watchdog accused Bittrex of directing issuers of crypto assets to delete public statements that could imply their tokens could be in violation of the country's securities law. The SEC also alleged that Shihara, the exchange's CEO between 2014 and 2019, "directed issuers who sought to have their crypto assets made available for trading on Bittrex's platform to first delete from public channels certain "problematic statements." Bittrex and the SEC reached a settlement amounting to $24 million, consisting of $14.4 million in disgorgement, $5.6 million in civil money penalties and $4 million in prejudgment interest on the disgorgement. The crypto trading platform has until 90 days post its liquidation to settle with the SEC, and failure to do so would lead to the regulator seeking court judgment. "Defendants agree that, as to Bittrex, the terms of the settlement reflected in this Consent and in the Judgment are subject to approval by the Bankruptcy Court in the Bankruptcy Case and shall be treated as an allowed, unsecured claim under the terms of any Plan filed by Bittrex in the Bankruptcy Case," the court filing read . The Thursday filings further said that Bittrex will neither admit nor deny the allegations, as well as make any public statement that might imply the financial regulator didn't have a factual basis for its allegations. Today we announced that crypto asset trading platform Bittrex Inc. and its co-founder and former CEO, William Shihara, agreed to settle charges that they operated an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) August 10, 2023 It is worth noting that the charge the SEC filed against Bittrex is similar to the lawsuit it filed against Coinbase and Binance, two of the largest crypto exchange platforms by trading volume, in June. Jai Waterman, an experienced business and technology leader currently serving as CEO of the decentralized trading ecosystem provider Blockstation, told International Business Times that a lot of crypto exchanges play several roles, that conflict with the law. "What we've seen with crypto exchanges is they have created a market where they act as the Exchange, Broker Dealer, Depository, the Transfer Agent, and even as the Regulator in some cases," Waterman said. "In this case, Binance operates as all of the above. It is no surprise to us that regulatory action would be taken and that the SEC is going after Binance and Coinbase; we expected it to happen sooner," the Blockstation CEO further told IBT . REGISTER FOR FREE to continue reading ✔️ Unlock the full content of International Business Times UK for free offer available for a limited time only ✔️ Easily manage your Newsletters subscriptions and save your favourite articles ✔️ No payment method required Already have an account? Log in © Copyright IBTimes 2023. All rights reserved. Join the Discussion MOST READ IN Crypto 1 Kusama Surprises Shiba Ecosystem With Incoming Projects' Details, Says SHIB Is Greater Than X 2 Exclusive: Shiba Ecosystem Launches 'SHIB X Meme War,' Declaring Shiba Inu's 'Supremacy Over X' 3 SEC's Bitcoin ETF Decision Looms As Market Anticipates Approval, Amid Talks Of Possible Delays 4 Stablecoin Giants Tether, Circle Respond To PayPal's PYUSD Launch With Optimism 5 How Decentralized Finance Is Democratizing The Global Investment Landscape NEWS Business Technology World National Politics Media & Culture Opinion Sports Crypto Featured Social Capital Glossary SMB Forum Spotlight ABOUT About Us Contact us Advertise with us Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Editions United States Australia Brazil Colombia France Germany Indonesia India International Italy Japan Editions Nigeria Philippines Singapore South Africa South Korea Spain Mexico Taiwan United Arab Emirates United Kingdom FOLLOW US Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Newsletter © Copyright 2023 IBTimes LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Read more: ibtimes
