The Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines has accused one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Gemini, of selling unregistered securities and guided its citizens not to trade on the platform.
According to the securities regulator of the Philippines, the New York-based digital assets and derivative exchange was found selling unregistered securities.
As per the SEC’s statement, the crypto exchange founded by Winklevoss is operating in the Philippines without the mandatory license and approval and is also selling unregistered securities.
The watchdog further advised its citizens to refrain from investing using Gemini. Per the criminal law of the Philippines, exchanges or platforms engaged in selling unregistered securities within the region will be sentenced to jail for 21 years or pay a penalty of five million Philippine pesos.
Gemini launched its non-US derivative platform in 30 nations in the first week of May 2023. In the last few months, several crypto exchanges have faced regulatory pressure, forcing them to wind up their operations in the respective nation.
In January, the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States sued Gemini over offering unregistered securities and selling securities to retail investors in the background of its Earn Crypto lending program.
It is important to note that SEC US has collectively sued Genesis subsidiary of Digital Currency Group and the crypto exchange founded by Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss in 2014.
Major Crypto Exchange Leave Developing Nations Due to Regulatory Pressure
Almost all leading cryptocurrency exchanges have faced regulatory pressure in the last few months, with regulators accusing them of selling unregistered securities. Most recently, the Bittrex crypto exchange announced halting all its operations after being accused of violating investor-protection rules.
One of the enforcement units of the U.S. SEC informed the crypto exchange that it might face legal complications as it was found violating U.S. rules.
By the end of Q1 2023, one of the leading crypto exchanges, Coinbase, received an enforcement notice from US SEC for selling unregistered securities in the region.
Coinbase said that the action against the company is to target the Earn staking service program. It argued that listing digital assets is not subject to notice.
On October 3, 2022, TheCoinRepublic reported that the Bitkub crypto exchange had been targeted by Thailand’s SEC over the charges of wash trading. The regulators accused four people engaged in the illegal process of trading.
In the crypto industry, Wash trading is illegal. It is the process in which traders buy digital assets in massive amounts and sell it to themselves, manipulating the market and generating false trading volume.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions stated by the author, or any people named in this article, are for informational ideas only and do not establish financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading crypto assets comes with a risk of financial loss.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while his post-graduation. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing along with being a developer. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2023/05/23/crypto-exchange-gemini-receives-warning-from-philippines-sec/