U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges list more than a dozen digital coins outlawed by regulators. That’s according to a Monday (May 8) Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, which also notes that the number of cryptocurrencies labeled by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has nearly tripled last year. The SEC can only regulate digital coins classified as securities, the report says, and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has said most cryptocurrencies are part of that designation. According to the report, that means many of these tokens were distributed illegally, as securities can only be sold to the public after they’re registered with the SEC and issuers put forth financial and risk disclosures. Since late 2017, the SEC Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. courts have identified 76 cryptocurrencies as securities. Of those 76, 16 were available for trading on one or more major U.S. crypto exchanges, the WSJ said. The report comes amid an ongoing clash between the SEC and crypto companies, who complain that the U.S. lags behind other countries in digital asset rules. Among them is Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who told CNBC at the Dubai Fintech Summit on Monday (May 8) that the U.S. is being overshadowed by other countries in this area. He added that by the time an SEC lawsuit filed against Ripple in December 2020 is resolved, the company will have spent $200 million defending itself.
Full report : Crypto Exchanges Sell Coins Deemed Illegal by SEC.
