By Hannah Lang
WASHINGTON, June 8 (Reuters) – Other U.S. crypto exchanges are likely to be in the firing line after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week sued Coinbase and Binance, two of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, for allegedly breaching its rules.
The SEC on Tuesday alleged Coinbase traded at least 13 crypto assets that are securities that should have been registered, while on Monday it also accused Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, of offering 12 cryptocurrency coins without registering them as securities.
The lawsuits expand the overall number of cryptocurrencies that the SEC has explicitly identified as securities. That raises questions about other exchanges that have also allowed U.S. investors to trade those tokens, such as Kraken, Gemini, Crypto.com and OKCoin, and whether they could be at risk of SEC action, industry executives said.
“All U.S. exchanges should now be on notice that they may be subject to enforcement action if they permit, or have permitted, these tokens to be traded,” said Jason Allegrante, chief legal and compliance officer at Fireblocks, a digital asset infrastructure provider.
Both Coinbase and Binance deny the SEC’s allegations and have pledged to vigorously defend themselves in court. The SEC declined to comment.
