TL;DR
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The SEC has recently given a ‘special purpose broker-dealer’ license to a crypto trading platform called Prometheum.
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Using this as an example to point to and say: ‘See, crypto exchanges can come into compliance under the current laws and be just fine.’
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Only problem is: Prometheum doesn’t trade any cryptocurrencies – in fact, the platform isn’t even live yet.
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The trick of it all being: Prometheum won’t be able to go live and support most crypto trades without falling out of compliance under the current securities laws.
Full Story
You know that flat-Earth documentary on Netflix, Behind the Curve?
It’s the one where, at the end, they run an experiment to show the Earth is flat, but accidentally prove the opposite.
This latest SEC story is a lot like that.
ICYMI: the SEC has been claiming the current securities laws (written in the 1930’s) don’t need any tweaking for crypto exchanges like Coinbase to be able to:
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Come into compliance
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Continue to operate as usual
Coinbase has responded something along the lines of:
‘We can’t see a way of coming in to compliance without these laws crippling our business/industry – and when we’ve asked you to show us how to safely comply, we get radio silence (and law suits) in return.’
Well…
The SEC has recently given a ‘special purpose broker-dealer’ license to a crypto trading platform called Prometheum.
(Using this as an example to point to and say: ‘See, crypto exchanges can come into compliance under the current laws and be just fine.’)
…only problem is:
Prometheum doesn’t trade any cryptocurrencies – in fact, the platform isn’t even live yet.
The trick of it all being:
Prometheum won’t be able to go live and support most crypto trades without falling out of compliance under the current securities laws.
So while the SEC is parading Prometheum around as the poster child of a compliant crypto exchange…it’s kind of proving the opposite.
BBTCE (Big ‘Behind the Curve’ Energy).