TechFlow news, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged TradeStation Crypto, Inc., a Florida-based company, for offering an unregistered crypto lending product that promised investors a way to earn interest.
The agency announced the charges on Wednesday, stating that TradeStation has agreed to settle the allegations by paying a $1.5 million penalty without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, according to a statement.
TradeStation is a mainstream financial platform founded in 1982 and acquired by Japanese conglomerate Monex in 2011. In 2020, it began offering cryptocurrency deposit accounts allowing customers to earn interest. According to filings, as of 2021, TradeStation had 11,122 active users globally participating in its interest-earning feature.
The SEC stated that TradeStation's crypto lending product constituted a security and did not qualify for any registration exemption. On June 30, 2022, TradeStation ceased offering the service following an SEC order. Earlier this year, the company announced it would discontinue its crypto-related products and services in the U.S. effective February 22. The company did not admit to any wrongdoing.
