US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against the Kraken exchange for the second time this year. SEC makes the following accusations regarding the stock market; operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer and clearing house.
krakenstrongly denied the securities regulator’s allegations, commenting, “We do not list the securities and plan to vigorously defend our position.”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Monday that Payward Inc., “collectively known as Kraken.” and Payward Ventures Inc. accusing the company of operating Kraken’s crypto trading platform as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer and clearing house.
This is the second lawsuit filed by the SEC against Kraken this year. As Koinfinans.com reported, the first lawsuit in February involved the crypto exchange’s staking program, for which the exchange agreed to pay $30 million.
The SEC also alleges that “the Company’s business practices, inadequate internal controls, and poor recordkeeping practices pose a number of risks to its customers.” The securities regulator also alleged that “Kraken mixed customers’ money with its own money, including paying operational expenses directly from accounts holding customer cash.” However, the most striking detail was that the SEC accused the exchange of listing crypto securities.
The SEC is seeking “injunctive relief, conduct-based injunctions, unjust enrichment plus interest, and remission of penalties.”
The complaint against Kraken does not allege fraud, market manipulation, customer loss due to hacking or compromised security, or breach of fiduciary duty.