Circle to pay more than $10M to settle SEC charges on Poloniex securities case

Discontinued cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex, owned by Circle Internet Financial, agrees to pay more than $10M to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it operated an unregistered digital asset exchange, the SEC said in a statement. From July 2017 through November 2019, Poloniex operated a web-based trading platform that facilitated buying and selling digital assets, including assets that were investment contracts, which makes them securities, the SEC said. Because Poloniex didn't register as a national securities exchange and didn't get an exemption from registration, it violated a section of the Exchange Act, according to the SEC. "Poloniex attempted to circumvent the SEC’s regulatory regime, which applies to any marketplace for bringing together buyers and sellers of securities regardless of the applied technology," said Kristina Littman, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division's Cyber Unit. Without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, Poloniex agreed to a cease-and-desist order and to