[Blockchain Today Reporter Jaemin Kim] The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, alleging that it commingled customer funds with company funds and failed to register with the regulator as a stock exchange, broker, dealer and clearing house. .
In a complaint filed in San Francisco federal court on the 20th (local time), the SEC claimed that Kraken has been operating as a platform that illegally promotes cryptocurrency trading since 2018.
In response, Kraken countered, saying, "We do not agree with the SEC's complaint at all," and added, "The SEC requested registration of the exchange without a single law supporting the exchange's position."
Additionally, the SEC alleged that Kraken had insufficient internal controls that led the exchange to commingle the company's assets with up to $33 billion worth of customer assets. The SEC said this created a significant risk of loss for customers.
“We allege that Kraken made business decisions to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars from investors rather than comply with securities laws,” Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said in a statement.
A Kraken spokesperson refuted the SEC's claims, saying the exchange has never listed unregistered securities.
kjm@blockchaintoday.co.kr
