SEC Sues Kraken For Operating Unregistered Securities Platform

• "Kraken, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was sued on Monday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused it of illegally operating as a securities exchange without first registering with the regulator," reported Reuters.

"The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Payward Inc. and Payward Ventures Inc., together known as Kraken, with operating Kraken’s crypto trading platform as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency," reads the press release by the SEC.

• "Kraken was also accused of having deficient internal controls and inadequate record keeping, reflected in part in its commingling customer money with its own and paying operating costs directly from customer accounts."

“We allege that Kraken made a business decision to reap hundreds of millions of dollars from investors rather than coming into compliance with the securities laws. That decision resulted in a business model rife with conflicts of interest that placed investors’ funds at risk,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

• “Kraken’s choice of unlawful profits over investor protection is one we see far too often in this space, and today we’re both holding Kraken accountable for its misconduct and sending a message to others to come into compliance,” he added.
• "Today, the SEC filed a complaint alleging that Kraken operates as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing house. We disagree, and intend to vigorously defend our position in court," Kraken wrote in a blog post.

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