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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against Cumberland DRW LLC for operating as an unregistered dealer.
The SEC alleges that Cumberland, a Chicago-based crypto market maker, bought and sold more than $2 billion in crypto assets, including those treated as securities, without registering as required by federal securities laws.
According to the SEC complaint, Cumberland has conducted these activities since at least 2018 through its trading platform, Marea, and by telephone.
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The SEC claims that Cumberland promotes itself as a major liquidity provider, trading several cryptoassets, including those associated with Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), Cosmos (ATOM), Algorand (ALGO), and Filecoin (FIL).
In its statement, the SEC emphasized that federal law requires all traders to register, regardless of whether they trade traditional securities or crypto assets.
SEC versus crypto
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has taken a strong stance against the crypto industry, calling it rife with fraud and illegal practices. His leadership has led to a series of legal actions against cryptocurrency companies, stating that many cryptocurrencies qualify as unregistered securities and fall under the jurisdiction of the SEC.
Earlier in the week, SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda criticized the agency's approach to cryptocurrency regulation, when crypto.com sued the SEC over a Wells notice alleging the platform operated as a brokerage. stock exchange and an unregistered securities clearing agency.