U.S. Crypto Exchanges and Binance Reportedly Being Investigated by the SEC

• Forbes reports that a staffer from Senator Lummis’ office said that every exchange in the U.S., and Binance, is being investigated by the SEC.
• The SEC could be looking at whether these exchanges have been allowing unregistered securities to be listed.
• The SEC has been adamant that the market does not have unregistered securities.

A staffer from the office of United States Senator Cynthia Lummis has said that every exchange in the country, as well as Binance, is being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The remark comes after reports circulated that the regulator was investigating Coinbase. Forbes was the first to report the story on August 4.

The SEC has not officially confirmed any such investigation, but the staffer’s comments are in line with the general sentiment that the SEC has shown over the past 12 months. The agency has been keen to let entities in space know that they will have to operate within the law, and will conduct probes if necessary.

The regulatory body has not been shy when it comes to filing lawsuits, though it’s unclear whether it will take that action against any of the major exchanges. If it does, it would become the most serious of all its lawsuits, outweighing even its lawsuit against Ripple.

The SEC has been clear that it does not want exchanges selling unregistered securities, or projects from offering these assets without registration. It has taken numerous steps to stand by that protocol, and the past few months have shown that it is only going to get tougher when it comes to scrutinizing the market.

Crypto Debates To Continue Well Into 2022

Some in the industry will argue that regulation has been a long time coming and that it will do a good job in the long run, but the implications of what is decided on will be far-reaching. Whether Ethereum is a security or not, for example, will have enormous ramifications for much of the market.

Besides debating how to regulate the asset class, various agencies in the United States are also deliberating who should be in charge of oversight. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is also frequently involved in enforcing action on the crypto market.

Bitcoin appears safe, but others may not be so lucky. The U.S. is beginning to review crypto regulation bills, which could be on the table by 2023 latest, but even until then, it is reasonable to expect a plethora of opinions and disagreements about the finer points.

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