Crypto lending products have come under scrutiny from security regulators in some jurisdictions across the United States. While these enforcement actions have come from agencies at the state level, there have been indications that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was also set to go on the offensive. Thus, it was perhaps unsurprising to see the SEC ask Coinbase to halt its proposed crypto lending program titled “Lend.” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong took to Twitter to express dissatisfaction with the SEC’s behavior, stating that the Commission was not forthcoming with useful guidance despite public assurances to the contrary. Critics of …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Rivetz over an alleged illegal securities offering that fetched around $18 million. Rivetz was founded in 2013 and the now-defunct blockchain hardware firm has been accused of generating $18 million via an unregistered securities offering between July and September of 2017 from more than 7,200 investors. The SEC’s Wednesday complaint names defendants Rivetz Corp., founder Steven Sprague and the firm’s subsidiary Rivetz International. The ICO revolved around the RvT token, which the SEC states was promoted and sold as an investment opportunity and used to capitalize on Rivetz’s business in …

Support for Coinbase and its CEO, Brian Armstrong, has been pouring in from the crypto community since the company disclosed in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that it had received a Wells Notice from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulator has threatened to sue the exchange over its proposed Lend program, which would offer 4% interest on customer holdings of the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin. Armstrong took to Twitter on Wednesday to vent his dismay over the lack of clarity from the regulator as to why it believes the product is a security. Meaival platforms Celsius and …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly threatened to sue Coinbase over a crypto yield program it deems as a security. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted on Wednesday that there has been some “really sketchy behavior coming out of the SEC recently” before launching into a 21 post thread detailing the SEC’s dealings with the firm. Armstrong explained that the crypto exchange approached the SEC earlier this year to brief the enforcement body over the up-and-coming Coinbase Lend program that intends to offer 4% annual yield returns on deposits of the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin. According to the …

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission has temporarily suspended the services of the local branch of crypto exchange Houbi and recommended revoking its operating license with the Ministry of Finance. With the suspension in place, Huobi has been given three months to return all assets to its clients. Huobi, which is branded as DSDack in Thailand, received the suspension order after failing to comply with local regulations related to its operations and management structure. According to the Thai SEC, Huobi was first informed about a breach of compliance during an investigation that started in February 2021. After its reported failure to …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission published a new alert about investment scams related to digital assets and cryptocurrency. The announcement, shared by the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force, highlighted the “devastating losses” faced by retail investors due to scams. The SEC attributed the “rising popularity” of initial coin offerings, including cryptocurrencies, as the main reason for growing scams and exploits. The SEC also said that the price surge of certain digital assets has been a key factor for scammers to lure unsuspecting investors: “Investors may be less …

Welcome to the latest iteration of Cointelegraph’s decentralized finance newsletter. Just as quickly as the summer departed from our calendars, millions of funds were hacked from the wallets of Cream Finance. This has been another jam-packed week in the DeFi space. Here are some top picks for the biggest stories in what is my debut appearance as Finance Redefined’s newsletter writer. What you’re reading is the shorter, snappier version of the newsletter. For the full roundup of DeFi developments across the week delivered directly to your inbox, subscribe below. Cream of the crop This week’s cream-of-the-crop story (pun intended) was …

Are crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) finally coming to the United States of America? Dozens of cryptocurrency-based ETFs or ETF-like products are currently selling on regulated exchanges in Europe, while Canada and Brazil have already introduced their own versions this year. Over the past eight years, however, not a single investment firm has won the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) approval for a cryptocurrency-backed ETF. The winds may now be shifting. “A futures-based Bitcoin ETF will be approved in the coming weeks, not months,” John Sarson, co-founder and CEO at Sarson Funds LLC, told Cointelegraph, adding that “the futures market …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly investigating the startup behind the world’s largest decentralized cryptocurrency exchange, Uniswap. The U.S. securities regulator has initiated a probe into Uniswap’s main developer, Uniswap Labs, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The report says that enforcement attorneys are now looking for information about Uniswap’s marketing and investor services, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for Uniswap Labs reportedly said the firm is “committed to complying with the laws and regulations governing our industry and to providing information to regulators that will assist them with any inquiry.” Uniswap …

United States Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn has ordered Ripple to produce 1 million missing Slack messages among employees that the Securities and Exchange Commission has sought to access. Despite Ripple’s protestations that complying would cost up to $1 million, the judge deemed the messages critical and unique evidence for the SEC’s ongoing case against the multi-billion-dollar company for selling unregistered securities. The SEC filed a suit against Ripple Labs and its initial and current CEOs, Christian Larsen and Bradley Garlinghouse, for selling XRP as an unregistered security on Dec. 20. According to Law360, in the original motion to compel Ripple …

The price of XRP edged higher on Sept. 2 as traders assessed Ripple Labs gaining an edge over the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in an ongoing courtroom battle. The XRP/USD exchange rate surged 4.74% to reach $1.296 for the first time since Aug. 23. The pair's climb appeared alongside a spike in trading volume on the four-hour chart, confirming traders' intent to support the upside move in the coming sessions. XRP has shot to go higher this week, reflecting a similar bullish move in other top digital assets. CrediBULL Crypto, an independent market analyst, noted that the Ripple …

Gary Gensler, the chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, has appeared virtually before the European Parliament to share his policy recommendations regarding the regulation of crypto assets. Speaking to the Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on Wednesday, Gensler highlighted the role financial technologies are playing in globalizing economic flows and undermining siloed national markets: “I think the transformation we’re living through right now could be every bit as big as the internet in the 1990s.” Gensler highlighted the $2.1-trillion cryptocurrency markets as a “truly global” asset class, stating, “It has no borders or boundaries. It …