Popular cryptocurrency exchange, Poloneix, has finally settled charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and will reportedly pay $10 million in a settlement. The top financial regulatory authority had charged Poloniex for non-compliance and breach of securities trading regulations.
In an announcement on Monday, the US SEC confirmed that between July 2017 and November 2019, Poloneix facilitated the trading of cryptocurrencies that qualified as securities. The regulatory authority says the exchange did not follow the regulatory provisions and violated Section 5 of the Exchange Act.
The SEC also claimed that Poloneix employees were deliberately attempting to circumvent compliance measures while offering crypto training services to US investors.
In its statement, the SEC said, “Poloniex chose increased profits over compliance with the federal securities laws by including digital asset securities on its unregistered exchange. […] Poloniex attempted to circumvent the SEC’s regulatory regime, which applies to any marketplace for bringing together buyers and sellers of securities regardless of the applied technology.”
The SEC’s announcement also confirmed that Poloniex has neither owned nor denied the charges and will pay $10.3 million to settle charges and get a cease-and-desist order.