So, Beaxy, the crypto trading platform, just shut down for good after being hit with a lawsuit from the SEC. They accused the company and its founder, Artak Hamazaspyan, of running an unregistered exchange and brokerage, which is a big deal.
On top of that, the SEC claims they raised around $8 million by selling an unregistered security, the BXY token. And get this, they say Hamazaspyan also took at least $900,000 for his personal stuff, including gambling.
Just shows how one charge can take a whole exchange under. Smaller exchanges usually can't handle the legal battles and don't have the cash for it. Honestly, most exchanges are probably doing something similar, and holding funds on any exchange is still a gamble, especially with the little guys.
Crypto exchange Bittrex shutters U.S. operations, blames regulatory environment
Bellevue, Wash.-based crypto exchange Bittrex announced Friday it was winding down its U.S. operations.
Nine years since launching, the crypto ecosystem is very different, Lai wrote. Regulatory requirements are often unclear and enforced without appropriate discussion or input, resulting in an uneven competitive landscape.
The crypto sector was rocked last year by the swift collapse of digital-asset exchange FTX. The prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other coins fell steeply in aftermath of FTXs shutdown.
I made this list Crypto exchanges under SECs Radar!.
Over the past three months, the SEC has tracked more than 6 platforms, at a rate of two platforms per month. If they continue at this pace, then in less than two years some, if not most, platforms will disappear.
I do not know whether the financial position of this platform is so bad that any regulatory decisions lead to their closure, or is there a problem with the structure of the work of these platforms? I think that one of the most important problems is the lack of guarantee of clients' money or the lack of separation between their money and the developers so that the money is spent for their personal interests.
Since some of these charges also revolve around the exchange ICO, I guess any exchange who do something like that in the past is likely going to get fined too. I don't remember if there is a law regarding those things when they do an ICO, but it seems like SEC is going all the way to make sure they can milk exchanges dry. Kinda hard to guess what's their goal other than enforcing more control and making sure they can gatekeep any US crypto business in the future. CMIIW.
From the USA there is a big struggle for spheres of influence in the crypto-currency market between the SEC and the CFTC. If cryptocurrencies had no future, then this process would be more peaceful. Howey Test from 1946 does not correspond to current realities and therefore any issuer of coins, tokens, stablecoins can be charged and fined. The BUSD ban is a prime example of arbitrariness in the US.
Under such pretexts, you can block any stablecoins and whatever.
Nice one, for somehow Sec has problematic with any Crypto Related sites. I know they want to protect Investor but when they say a thing it shake crypto price.
and yes Bittrex too one of the oldest exchanges decided to close its operation in the US. regulation seems hard to get in the us and the customer seems not big enough
Are there any restrictions imposed by the CFTC on a cryptocurrency platform?
There is an office in the SEC that is in charge of this war, and they have been able to reach legal problems with many platforms. However, I see that a platform like Coinbase and others is still working, meaning that the problems with these platforms and their non-compliance with the laws of the United States.
The main goal is to dry up any banking method linking these currencies to the US dollar so that it is without a *dollar cover*
Small to mid-tier exchange, yeah, it seems that they doesn't have any chance against this government institutions and the first move was to shut down it's business. That's why it's not good to leave our assets in some obscure exchanges.
@all - what do you think about the SEC vs Coinbase, their is a potential litigation as SEC already send a "Wells notice" against Coinbase. So obviously they are the next exchange that they are going after, and it's a big fish. I'm not seeing Coinbase though going without a fight here like Beaxy Digital Ltd. Chances are, they will go to court and drag this case.
https://www.coinbase.com/blog/we-asked-the-sec-for-reasonable-crypto-rules-for-americans-we-got-legal
This is one of the episodes of the big game. Several large exchanges have already left the US market, and Coinbase is doing well, despite warnings from the regulator. This is an American business and they have a lot of problems being solved with the help of lobbying. An important task for Coinbase to remove the Binance exchange from the US market
Yes there is something suspicious about Coinbase, while great pressure is being put on Binance and other centralized exchanges Coinbase is weathering the storm, why isn't the same excuse applied to Coinbase?
This is a big question mark as it is rumored that Coinbase is the spoiled child of the US government, in addition to Coinbase being completely subject to the US government, pressure groups must be working in secret as well, perhaps the goal is to control Coinbase over the entire market.
Rumors are not always to be trusted. I also heard that Coinbase is getting rid of competitors, but to become a leader, they need to make a great product. The monopoly always negatively affects the development of the company and competitors will go to Hong Kong, the Emirates and develop cryptocurrency markets.
It could be but the US government is after Coinbase as well right, so I guess even if they are US based, the government are still going after them and could potentially sue them unless they cooperate.
Of course they can used the lobbying method, but who are amongst those congressman who are going to support Coinbase?
Either way Coinbase will have to shell out huge money if case of a lawsuit or asking someone to lobby for them.
I mean if the allegations regarding misappropriated use of funds are true, this strike from SEC has some validity. They could
However in general I wonder if the strick policy vs smaller exchanges may have strong negative effects on the US crypto-tech sector in the long run. The US market may be big but it shouldn't be overestimated vs especially the huge uprising crypto markets in Asia.
Sure, with these measures the SEC will make it very likely that the US market stays in US hands, but anything outside will be ruled by non-US exchanges because they'll be able to offer much more attractive platforms and conditions.
I'd rather just give up than spend tons of money over lawsuit on non-ending pressure in which only those on the authority are the ones benefitting. Their government is doing their best to control over the regulations of crypto in their country, I just really hope some other countries won't follow this example. This is already monopoly at its finest.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-derivatives-regulator-says-binance-175042712.html
"These are not unsophisticated individuals, CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam said Thursday at an event hosted by Princeton University. They are starting large companies and offering futures contracts and derivatives to US customers.
In one of the most significant moves by Washington to crack down on a crypto firm, the CFTC last month accused Binance of sham compliance with US derivatives regulations, including failing to keep Americans off its exchange as promised and not registering with the regulator. Binance, which has said it was disappointed by the suit and would continue to work with the regulator, isnt supposed to have Americans trading on its global exchange under the regulators rules.
On Thursday, Behnam said that the operator of the worlds biggest crypto exchange had intentionally broken CFTC rules. If you are going to offer futures contracts in the US, there is a clear understanding that you are registered with the CFTC and comply by the law, he added.
The CFTC is just one of several US bodies that have been investigating Binances activities. The Internal Revenue Service, as well as federal prosecutors, have been examining Binances compliance with anti-money laundering obligations, Bloomberg News has reported. The Securities and Exchange Commission has been scrutinizing whether the exchange has supported the trading of unregistered securities."
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Binance has very big problems, because the SEC and the CFTC are working against the exchange. The process will be indicative for everyone else.
In Southeast Asia at least, this doesn't seem to be the case. Most governments still do not allow crypto usage for payments, but people can trade just fine. Exchanges are being regulated heavily, and oversea exchange that does not have an office in the country seems to be blocked through DNS blocking, etc. Fortunately, they don't block and fine every exchange as long as they follow the latest rules. At least that's what happens in my country. I believe this will be the status quo for a while.
Well one by one exchanges that have licensed in the US start to close their business, I think the regulation there was pretty tight and SEC seems bombarded the US crypto world. are the Binance could be the next??
back to the tittle of the topic Im also curios how to close a crypto account I think when the company start to fall apart or bankrupt they should noot to keep the user data right?
One of the major responsibilities of the SEC is to protect the American investment sector against fraud or fraudulent business. But SEC is not proactive because they are always alleging that some exchanges operate without a license after these firms have operated for many years. Beaxy has been operating as an unregistered exchange and broker for many years and SEC had to wait until the customers have lost their funds before they react. SEC should monitor its crypto space and sanction unregistered firms instead of waiting until they mismanaged people's hard-earned money.
It has a high chance to happen. That being said, with their capital and money, I doubt Binance will be in trouble unless something terrible happened. They can pay the fine and then stop serving US customers, although I doubt they'd do that without any reluctance. I bet they'd reverse that decision if the opportunity arise as quickly as possible.
Ideally, that should be the case, but I wouldn't be surprised if they kept some data and sell or send them to some agencies or other companies. They'd not do it publicly of course, why would they do that if they can get in trouble later? If you don't want to risk it, the only choice is to never use them in the first place. CMIIW.
This case will be long.
If you are talking about the security of your personal data, then I do not trust exchanges.
Coinbase Executive: Our Client Data Was Sold By Third-Party Providers
https://cryptopotato.com/coinbase-executive-our-client-data-was-sold-by-third-party-providers/
Although in my country, personal data is sold like pies on the market, and it is impossible to fight against it.