US SEC is probing yet another cryptocurrency exchange.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), an independent agency of the United States federal government enforcing laws against market manipulation, has reportedly launched an investigation into crypto exchange Kraken.
According to the Bloomberg report shared on February 8th, SEC is reportedly trying to figure out whether Kraken offered unregistered securities to its American clients.
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In the report, Bloomberg noted that the information was revealed by an individual familiar with the matter, who wanted to remain anonymous as the case hasn’t been made public.
The person with knowledge of the matter reportedly noted that the probe is “at an advanced stage and could lead to a settlement in the coming days.” At the time of writing, it is unclear which offerings are under scrutiny by the US SEC.
When asked about the matter, SEC’s spokesperson noted:
The SEC does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation.
The crypto exchange didn’t provide any comments regarding the matter. However, in September, Kraken CEO Dave Ripley claimed that the company is not planning to register with the SEC as it doesn’t offer securities. Ripley added:
There are not any tokens out there that are securities that we’re interested in listing.
Last year, Kraken was under the radar of the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for allegedly violating “sanctions against Iran.” At the end of November, Kraken agreed to pay around $362,000 “to settle its potential civil liability.”
It is not the first time the Securities and Exchange Commission targeted crypto-related firms and their crypto offerings. In 2020, SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, alleging that the company and its executives illegally sold XRP to investors without first registering it as a security. The case is still ongoing, but the head of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, expects to settle with SEC at some point in 2023.
