eToro to limit US crypto trading after $1.5M SEC settlement

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The trading platform has agreed to limit US crypto offerings and pay $1.5M handsome in settlement with the SEC.

The SEC has reached a settlement with trading platform eToro, requiring the company to ban crypto trading for US clients to supreme Bitcoin, Ethereum, as neatly as Bitcoin Cash.

Below the settlement announced Thursday, eToro will pay a $1.5 million handsome to settle allegations it operated as an unregistered broker and clearing company. The Tel Aviv-primarily primarily based fully company’s US division will give clients 180 days to promote any crypto assets no longer included within the three allowed cryptocurrencies.

The settlement vastly narrows eToro’s crypto offerings for US customers, as the platform currently lists over 100 a lot of tokens including new coins esteem XRP, Solana, and Polygon. SEC enforcement director Gurbir S. Grewal acknowledged that by casting off tokens provided as investment contracts, “eToro has chosen to design into compliance and occupy internal our established regulatory framework.”

eToro CEO Yoni Assia downplayed the impact, saying the settlement would minimally occupy an impact on the company’s industry and that non-US customers can aloof access its full crypto trading alternate solutions. He expressed optimism about future US crypto guidelines, noting, “We now occupy a particular regulatory framework for cryptoassets in our dwelling markets of the UK and Europe and we mediate we will be aware an identical within the US within the attain future.”

The SEC’s crypto crackdowns continue

The eToro settlement continues the SEC’s broader crackdown on crypto exchanges over the past year. The company has filed lawsuits against predominant platforms Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken, while additionally notifying Robinhood of a potential enforcement action associated to its crypto industry. This regulatory stress extends beyond exchanges to other crypto initiatives esteem Tron, OpenSea, and Consensys, among others.

Severely, the settlement enables eToro to continue offering Ethereum trading to US clients, regardless of earlier indications from the SEC that it would possibly perhaps most likely perhaps additionally place in mind Ether an unregistered security. This aligns with the company’s most standard approval of attach Ether commerce-traded funds, signaling a shift in its stance on the second-largest cryptocurrency by market label.