The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Shapeshift, a virtual currency exchange previously operated in Denver, Colorado, of operating as an unregistered dealer of virtual currencies before 2021. The company applied for a suspension for shutting down its operations. It was a security.
As part of Tuesday's filing, the SEC announced it accepted Shapeshift's settlement offer. The deal includes a $275,000 fine and an agreement that the company will no longer violate securities laws.
Shapeshift offers customers “at least 79 cryptoassets,” including “offered and sold as investment contracts,” according to the filing, but ShapeShift offers customers “at least 79 cryptoassets,” including “some offered and sold as investment contracts,” but it does not offer certain digital There is no mention that the assets are securities.
However, the exchange said it operated as an unregistered dealer in the U.S. from 2014 to 2021, a charge the SEC has filed against other U.S. crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance.US. This is a similar accusation.
“ShapeShift regularly bought and sold crypto assets in its own accounts, brought in inventory, and made it available to customers who wanted to buy and sell crypto assets offered on ShapeShift.io,” the filing states. ing.
The company closed its U.S. exchanges in 2021, according to the SEC.
The footnote also said the cease-and-desist findings “are not binding on any other person or entity in this or any other proceeding.”
Neither an SEC spokesperson nor ShapeShift founder Eric Voorhees immediately responded to requests for comment.
