In a blog post launched on August 8, Bitstamp, the oldest cryptocurrency change, declared its intention to “completely” halt buying and selling of sure altcoins for its customers based mostly in america, beginning August 29, 2023.
The suspended belongings embody Axie Infinity (AXS), Chiliz (CHZ), Decentraland (MANA), Polygon (MATIC), NEAR Protocol (NEAR), The Sandbox (SAND), and Solana (SOL).
“Contemplating current developments, we’re making some modifications to our crypto choices—particularly for our prospects residing in america,” the change stated within the announcement on Tuesday.
Whereas Bitstamp has not explicitly said the motives behind its resolution, there are indications that the current transfer may very well be associated to the US Securities and Alternate Fee’s (SEC) current actions.
The SEC labeled all seven tokens as unregistered securities in its complaints in opposition to main exchanges Binance and Coinbase. This context suggests a potential hyperlink between Bitstamp’s actions and the regulatory issues raised by the SEC’s stance.
“At Bitstamp, we’ve got a complete framework in place to constantly consider the cryptocurrencies we offer, considering the dynamic regulatory surroundings,” stated Bitstamp.
Bitstamp has clarified the upcoming modifications concerning buying and selling actions involving seven tokens. Whereas buying and selling for these tokens shall be suspended, customers will retain the flexibility to carry them of their accounts and withdraw as wanted till August 29, 2023.
In preparation for this buying and selling halt, Bitstamp urges customers to promptly execute any desired purchase or promote orders involving the affected tokens earlier than the desired date.
SEC Takes Authorized Motion In opposition to Binance.US and Coinbase Over Unregistered Securities
Binance.US, the American arm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency change, and Coinbase, the main crypto buying and selling platform within the US, at the moment are going through authorized challenges from the US Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC).
The regulatory physique claims that a number of tokens accessible for buying and selling on these platforms violate securities rules attributable to being unregistered securities.
This regulatory crackdown intensified in June when the SEC filed a lawsuit in opposition to Binance, bringing ahead 13 costs in opposition to the change and its CEO, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao.
The lawsuit asserts that Binance and its founder, CZ, who additionally acts because the controlling shareholder, have demonstrated disregard for federal securities legal guidelines. They’re accused of participating within the unregistered sale and supply of crypto belongings.
Following its current crackdown on Binance, the US Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) has shifted its focus to Coinbase.
On this lawsuit, the SEC alleged that the cryptocurrency change didn’t correctly register as an change, clearing home, and dealer, despite the fact that it offered these companies to buyers. Moreover, the SEC claimed that Coinbase supplied and bought unregistered securities by means of its staking service.
The company additional asserts that Coinbase allowed the buying and selling of crypto belongings that ought to be categorized as funding contracts and handled as securities.
This classification contains tokens related to Solana, Cardano, Polygon, Filecoin, The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, Chiliz, Stream, Web Pc, Close to Protocol, Voyager, Sprint, and Nexo.
