Fintech Nexus Newsletter (November 21, 2023): SEC Goes After Kraken Crypto Exchange

While the OpenAI saga continues without any major changes in the last 24 hours our featured story today concerns the SEC and crypto.

Yesterday, the SEC announced that it is suing Kraken for operating as an unregistered securities exchange. This follows similar actions in June against the two largest crypto exchanges, Coinbase and Binance.

The SEC still really, really doesn’t like crypto. Some in the industry think the agency has lost sight of its mission to protect investors as it has racked up a series of legal setbacks this year in its actions against the industry. 

In this latest action the SEC is targetting Kraken for a second time, the exchange settled with the SEC for $30 million for operating a crypto staking program but this current lawsuit gets at the core of Kraken’s business.

The company is determined to fight these new changes calling the SEC’s view of digital assets “incorrect as a matter of law, false as a matter of fact, and disastrous as a matter of policy.”

P.S. We often feature articles from The Fintech Blueprint in our newsletter. For Black Friday they’re offering their steepest discount yet — 50% off a premium subscription. It’s a fantastic value. For less than $10/month, you can ensure you’re getting access to the best fintech analysis in the biz. Get 50% off here.

Featured

SEC sues Kraken crypto exchange over failure to register

Kraken, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was sued on Monday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused it of illegally operating as a securities exchange without first registering with the regulator.

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