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Robinhood receives new legal threat from SEC as cryptocurrency crackdown continues
Robin Hood (HOOD) She said has received a warning from the Securities and Exchange Commission that the trading platform may face enforcement action related to its cryptocurrency business in the United States.
The so-called Wells Notice received by Robinhood on May 4 stated that the SEC staff had made a “preliminary determination” to recommend the action due to securities broker and transfer agent registration violations.
Its shares, however, rose more than 1% in morning trading Monday, after falling as much as 7% before the market open.
Robinhood warned in its disclosure that potential action by the SEC could mean a civil complaint and public prosecution that could end in a fine, a cease-and-desist order and other limitations on its crypto activities.
“After years of good faith attempts to work with the SEC to achieve regulatory clarity, including our notorious ‘go in and register’ effort, we are disappointed that the agency has decided to issue a Wells Alert,” he said. said Robinhood’s head of legal and compliance. and corporate affairs manager Dan Gallagher said in a blog send.
The SEC has prosecuted a number of companies that allow US customers to trade cryptocurrencies as part of a broad crackdown on the industry.
Last June the agency filed a lawsuit against the largest US cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase (CURRENCY), alleging that it was operating an unregistered exchange allowing the sale of certain crypto tokens that the agency considers investment securities — and therefore part of the SEC’s jurisdiction.
Currently, Coinbase and its CEO, Brian Armstrong, are fighting these accusations. They argued that cryptocurrencies sold through its exchange are more like baseball cards than securities.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, speaks at a rally on March 4 in Los Angeles. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (Jason Armond via Getty Images)
The regulator made a similar argument in a separate lawsuit against Binanceclaiming that the exchange also allowed the trading on its platform of certain digital currencies that would need to be registered with the SEC.
Robinhood’s chief legal officer made the same argument as Coinbase on Monday, stating that “We firmly believe that the assets listed on our platform are not securities, and we look forward to working with the SEC to clarify how weak any case against Robinhood is. cryptocurrencies would be based on both facts and law.”
Robinhood previously said its cryptocurrency activity was under SEC investigation, and the trading venue had done so disclosed that the SEC had issued subpoenas.
Electronic screens in Times Square in New York announce Robinhood’s IPO in 2021. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
What could make this legal threat less severe for Robinhood is that the trading firm earns much less of its total revenue from cryptocurrency trading than more crypto-focused firms, Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev said in a research note from Monday.
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In the fourth quarter of 2023, Robinhood earned total net revenue of $471 million, 9.13% of which came from cryptocurrency-related transaction fees.
“In our view, concerns regarding the alert are likely overblown,” said Dolev, who has a buy rating on Robinhood shares.
Robinhood reports first-quarter earnings after the market closes Wednesday.
David Hollerith is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance covering banking, cryptocurrencies and other areas of finance.
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