It has been learned that Bittrex, once the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the USA, sent a lawsuit threat by the SEC.
The stock market had recently decided to withdraw from the USA.
Cryptocurrency Exchange Bittrex Manager Announces That Wells Notice Has Been Sent To The Company
According to David Maria, the company's general counsel, the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) enforcement unit said in March it would recommend suing the company for allegedly violating investor protection laws.
Stating that Bittrex was preparing to terminate its operations in the US when it received this notice, Maria cited the difficulty of working with US regulators who have sanctioned more than 100 crypto defendants in six years. The SEC declined to comment on the matter.
The SEC also recently forced Kraken, the second largest US Bitcoin exchange, to stop offering services that allow users to earn returns on certain tokens.
The SEC has been investigating Bittrex since 2017, when the agency launched a comprehensive investigation into cryptocurrencies, which was a new industry at the time. The agency has sent Bittrex numerous subpoenas over the years, mainly aimed at finding out how it makes money and decides what assets to list.
Maria said SEC attorneys wrote in their notice of potential enforcement action, known as the Wells notice, that Bittrex had violated the law by doing business as an exchange, brokerage dealer, and clearinghouse without first registering with the agency.
U.S. law generally requires entities offering securities to investors to register with the SEC and follow rules designed to protect investors' funds and disclose fees and risks.
SEC commissioners will need to approve a possible lawsuit against Bittrex. Commissioners' votes on cases sometimes come up to six months after a Wells statement is published. In some cases, the SEC's enforcement division decides to discontinue an investigation or an agreement is reached after a Wells notice is issued.
*Not investment advice.
