Crypto Exchange Bittrex Charged by SEC for Unregistered Security Offering

• SEC fined Bittrex for national unregistered securities on Monday.
• The crypto exchange Bittrex replied with disappointment.

Sooner this Monday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (U.S. SEC) charged Bittrex, a cryptocurrency exchange for unregistered security policies. The CEO of Bittrex, William Shihara, and the representatives had to respond to the complaint raised over Bittrex. Furthermore, it is mentioned that SEC charged Bittrex’s foreign affiliate termed ‘Bittre Global GmbH’ for violating the laws and regulations. 

As per the SEC reports, Bittrex Global GmbH has failed to register for the national securities exchange with their operations. Meanwhile, Shihara is been notified of charges for being alleged with the unregistered national securities exchange, brokerage, and clearing agency.  Also, the complaint against Bittrex filed in the U.S. district court located in Washington. 

Bittrex Responds To U.S. SEC

Moreover, the crypto exchange Bittrex has listed cryptocurrencies including Algorand (ALGO), Dash (DASH), OMG Network (TKN), Monolith (TKN), NAGA (NGC), and IHT Real Estate Protocol (IHT). Further, as soon as all these altcoins are listed under Bittrex, SEC provides compliance action on operating unregulated tokens as securities. 

For this, Bittrex replied back to the U.S. SEC with a letter. 

Back in 2017 to 2020, Bittrex failed against U.S. SEC though it generated  $1.3B in revenues from transaction fees. The reason is that Bittrex hasn’t registered the activities of the revenue generated. 

Meanwhile, SEC’s chairman Gary Gensler said:

“Today’s action, yet again, makes plain that the crypto markets suffer from a lack of regulatory compliance, not a lack of regulatory clarity.”

However, Gensler already mentioned that the companies should regulate the proper records of transactions in the crypto market by registering with SEC. Nevertheless, Bittrex had to pay $29M as a fine for an apparent violation to the United States Treasury Department. This is under the anti-money laundering law in certain other countries.  

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