- Coinbase accused for listing unregistered securities in trading.
- SEC has already charged Ex-Coinbase Product manager for insider trading.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has alleged in a recent court filing that at least nine digital assets traded on the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase are unregistered securities. The nine assets in question are AMP (AMP), Rally (RLY), DerivaDEX (DDX), XYO (XYO), Rari Governance Token (RGT), LCX (LCX), Powerledger (POWR), DFX Finance (DFX), and Kromatika (KROM).
The complaint stated:
“A digital token or crypto asset is a crypto asset security if it meets the definition of a security, which the Securities Act defines to include ‘investment contract,’ i.e., if it constitutes an investment of money in a common enterprise, with a reasonable expectation of profit derived from the efforts of others.”
Scrutinizing Token-Listings:
Ex-Coinbase Product Manager Ishan Wahi and two others have been charged by the SEC and the DOJ with conducting an insider-trading conspiracy that resulted in more than $1.1 million in unlawful profits. Nikhil Wahi and Sameer Ramani, Wahi’s brother and a friend, were reportedly told of future token-listing announcements by Wahi.
“Ahead of those announcements, which usually resulted in an increase in the assets’ prices, Nikhil Wahi and Ramani allegedly purchased at least 25 crypto assets, at least nine of which were securities, and then typically sold them shortly after the announcements for a profit.”
The SEC said in a press release:
“Hallmarks of the definition of a security,” according to the Commission, include continual claims by issuers and their management teams about the value of the token, the managerial activities that contribute to the tokens’ value, and secondary markets for trading the tokens.
