SEC’s Crypto Compliance by Enforcement Push Continues as Bittrex Hit With $24 Million Fine
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s push to force the crypto industry into “regulatory compliance” via enforcement action continues, with bankrupt crypto exchange Bittrex the latest to fall foul of the agency.
Bittrex just agreed to pay a $24 million fine to the SEC, after the agency accused the exchange of operating as an unregistered securities exchange back in April.
As per a court document detailing the terms of the settlement, Bittrex reportedly did not admit or deny the allegations made against it by the SEC.
Bittrex filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in May with $500 million in assets and $1 billion in liabilities on its books.
Bittrex is one of numerous exchanges and crypto firms operating (or formerly operating) in the US that have been targeted by the SEC over allegedly operating as unregistered securities exchanges.
Kraken was forced to shutter its crypto staking services in the US and pay a $30 million as part of a similar settlement with the SEC in early 2023.
Stablecoin firm Paxos was forced to stop issuing the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin when the SEC went after it claiming that BUSD is an unregistered security.
The SEC has also launched enforcement actions against Coinbase and Binance over operating as unregistered securities exchanges in the US, while it has also accused Binance of more concerning charges relating to mismanagement and the co-mingling of customer funds.
The SEC’s more aggressive approach towards crypto regulation comes after a series of high-profile crypto catastrophes in 2022, which include the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and FTX.
FTX was known for having cozied up fairly close to a lot of US politicians and regulators, with some theorizing that the SEC (and broader US
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