SEC Cracks Down on Another Crypto Lender With $3 Million In Fines

TradeStation Crypto launched in 2019 and offered stocks and ETFs. But its crypto lending program is is what caught the eye of regulators.

By Mat Di Salvo           2 min read • Feb 7, 2024

ErisX is now available for more institutional traders on TradeStation. Image: Shutterstock.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has gone after crypto brokerage firm TradeStation Crypto—and the firm has agreed to settle the case $3 million in fines.

The regulator announced charges against the Florida-based company on Wednesday, alleging that it failed to register the offer and sale of a crypto lending product.

The SEC said that TradeStation agreed to settle the charges by paying a $1.5 million penalty without admitting or denying wrongdoing.

To address similar charges by regulatory authorities at the state level, the firm agreed to pay another $1.5 million, bringing its total fines up to $3 million, the SEC added.

"The order finds TradeStation offered and sold the crypto lending product with the interest feature as a security, and, since it did not qualify for a registration exemption, TradeStation was required to register its offer and sale but failed to do so," the SEC's statement read.

TradeStation voluntarily stopped offering and selling the interest feature to investors in 2022, the regulator's statement noted.

Launched in 1982, TradeStation offers commission-free trading on stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), futures, and options.

Its crypto brokerage platform launched in 2019, offering just five digital coins for traders at the time—including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

The SEC has gone hard after digital asset companies that offer investors what it deems unregistered securities. It has hit major crypto exchanges and platforms with massive fines for selling certain digital coins and tokens, but today's action shows that the agency's jurisdiction encompasses more than the bigger players.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.

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Original article posted on the Decrypt.co site, by Decrypt Staff.

Article re-posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

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