The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has entered into an out-of-court settlement with BlockFi, a cryptocurrency lender. It will pay the SEC a $ 50 million fine and will stop offering high-yield lending products to US clients. Bloomberg was the first to report, and his information suggests that this settlement should probably not affect already opened accounts.
In addition to the $ 50 million the SEC will pay, BlockFi is to pay another $ 50 million to other regulators. The platform was reportedly investigated for offering unapproved investment products in New Jersey, Texas, Kentucky, Alabama and Vermont. Some U.S. states have also issued injunctions to block BlockFi within their jurisdictions.
The first information about the BlockFi investigation appeared in November 2021 and related to a loan product that offered up to 9.5% returns. During the same period, there was speculation that the SEC perceived BlockFi’s business as a potential offering of unregistered securities.
The platform spokesman answered Bloomberg’s questions austerely: “We have had a productive dialogue with regulators at the federal and state levels. We do not comment on gossip from the market. We can confirm that clients’ assets are protected.”
Lending platforms such as BlockFi and Celsius have come under increased SEC attention since Gary Gensler took over. He repeatedly indicated that from his point of view, many existing altcoins could be considered unregistered securities. In this context, there has even been recent speculation about the cryptocurrency ETH, which was previously referred to by this commission as a commodity.
