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Bittrex Reaches $24 Million Settlement with SEC in Lawsuit Resolution
Bittrex exchange is willing to face and settle the charges imposed by U.S. investors for selling unregistered securities.
Bittrex, a prominent crypto exchange, has settled the allegations of permitting United States-based consumers to access unregistered securities. The platform has agreed to pay a fine of nearly $24 million. The company has two months following the submission of a liquidation strategy for its crypto exchange to recompense the respective fine.
Bittrex to Settle the Lawsuit with the US Securities Watchdog by Recompensing $24M
The US SEC filed a lawsuit against Bittrex, which submitted a bankruptcy filing back in May 2023. In its lawsuit filing, the SEC said that the firm simultaneously ran a clearinghouse, broker, and a crypto exchange without getting registration for any of these with the regulatory agency. The US securities regulator has raised analogous allegations against such other crypto exchanges taking into account Binance.US and Coinbase.
Moreover, the SEC accused Bittrex of directing crypto issuing platforms to eliminate public statements, which could potentially highlight that the tokens might infringe US securities laws. As per a recent court filing, the crypto platform will carry out the settlement of the lawsuit without denying or admitting the allegations.
In addition to this, Bittrex is not allowed to make any open statement likely accusing the SEC of not possessing any factual basis regarding the allegations. Approximately $14.4M of the cumulative $24M fine comprises disgorgement. Along with that, $4 million is related to prejudgment interest related to that disgorgement as well as $5.6M concerns civil money charges.
The Settlement Ensures No Firm Escapes Compliance, Says an SEC Executive The filing brought to the front that the defendants consented to the settlement terms. Gurbir Grewal of the SEC also spoke on this settlement. Grewal asserted that the settlement gives a message to the other firms that they cannot avoid liability even after changing labels or descriptions. He also appreciated the efforts made by the SEC to go against non-compliance.
