The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has identified 16 crypto tokens as securities in its lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. Some of the alleged crypto securities were the same as those highlighted in the SEC’s lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance. Kraken’s CEO stressed: “We strongly disagree with the SEC claims, stand firm in our view that we do not list securities, and plan to vigorously defend our position.”
SEC Labels 16 Crypto Tokens as Securities
In its lawsuit against crypto exchange Kraken filed on Monday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) named 16 crypto tokens as securities. The regulator’s complaint states:
Kraken currently makes available for trading crypto assets that have been the subject of prior SEC enforcement actions based upon their status as crypto asset securities, including crypto assets trading under the symbols ADA, AXS, ALGO, ATOM, CHZ, COTI, DASH, FIL, FLOW, ICP, MANA, MATIC, NEAR, OMG, SAND, and SOL.
The regulator pointed out that some of the aforementioned crypto assets had been named in several previous legal cases, including those involving Coinbase, Binance, and Bittrex. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has repeatedly said that he views all crypto tokens, except bitcoin, as securities. However, a recent court ruling found that XRP is “not necessarily a security on its face.”
In its lawsuit against Coinbase in June, the SEC stated that crypto assets like ICP, AXS, CHZ, FLOW, DASH, VGX, FIL, NEXO, NEAR, ADA, SAND, SOL, and MATIC meet the criteria of being investment contracts. In the same month, the securities regulator identified in a lawsuit against Binance that 12 crypto tokens are securities: BNB, BUSD, SOL, ADA, MATIC, FIL, ATOM, SAND, MANA, ALGO, AXS, and COTI. In April, the SEC said DASH, ALGO, TKN, NGC, and OMG are unregistered securities in a lawsuit against Bittrex.
Responding to the SEC’s charges on Monday, Kraken CEO Dave Ripley emphasized on social media platform X: “We strongly disagree with the SEC claims, stand firm in our view that we do not list securities, and plan to vigorously defend our position.” Like Kraken, Coinbase has insisted that its platforms do not list crypto securities. In July, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, asserted that the SEC’s interpretation of “investment contract” violates the law.
After the SEC’s move against Kraken, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) called on Congress to “pass a regulatory framework to provide clear rules to the SEC on what is a security and what is a commodity.” She stressed on X: “The SEC cannot continue ruling by enforcement. Crypto asset companies have repeatedly tried to get guidance from the SEC only to be hit with enforcement actions, causing unnecessary harm to consumers.”
What do you think about the SEC stating that 16 crypto assets are securities in the Kraken lawsuit? Let us know in the comments section below.
