eToro Settles with SEC, Will Only Offer ETH, BTC & BCH Trading

Online investing platform eToro has agreed to pay a $1.5M settlement to SEC and will limit its U.S. crypto operations.

What’s the Scoop?

• Closing the Matter: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) levied a $1.5M fine against eToro to settle allegations that it operated as an unregistered broker and clearing agency by facilitating the sale of certain crypto assets as securities.
• Sanctioned Offerings: Subject to the settlement, eToro must pare back its crypto offerings for Americans and can only offer Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Ether trading; all other crypto assets must be sold within 180 days.

Bankless Take:

While eToro chose to avoid a protracted legal combat and simply walk away from this case by accepting a relatively insignificant fine, the settlement seeds confusion for the holders of delisted eToro assets that were not definitively classified as securities in and of themselves.

Although the SEC has optimistically provided further clarity as to the non-security status of BTC and ETH (in addition to BCH), the agency’s prior approval of spot ETFs for the two former assets should have already confirmed this fact.