- According to an August 26 statement, Abra, operating as Plutus Lending, has agreed to pay undisclosed civil penalties.
- The U.S. SEC has filed a lawsuit against a crypto asset platform for failing to register its Earn product.
- Abra, a crypto asset platform operated by Plutus Lending LLC, allegedly leveraged users’ funds for self-benefit, the SEC’s lawsuit notes
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is again in the spotlight for its efforts to regulate the cryptocurrency market despite lacking clear rules and regulations.
The SEC has filed a lawsuit against Abra, a crypto asset platform operated by Plutus Lending LLC. The lawsuit alleges that Abra failed to register its retail crypto asset lending product, Abra Earn, by SEC requirements.
In July 2020, Abra debuted its Abra Earn program, which enabled U.S. investors to lend their cryptocurrency assets in exchange for variable interest rates.
The program gained significant popularity, reaching a peak of $600 million in assets, with approximately $500 million of that total coming from US-based investors, according to the SEC’s statement.
The commission alleges that Abra promoted its Abra Earn program with assurances of effortless, automatic interest earnings while maintaining control over utilizing the lent assets to generate income.
The SEC argues that Abra Earn qualifies as a security and should have been registered with federal securities laws.
Abra improperly used investor assets to generate income for the company and pay interest to investors without properly registering Abra Earn as a security, according to the SEC’s lawsuit; this means that Abra allegedly profited from investor funds without adhering to the required securities laws and regulations.
Abra has reached a settlement with the SEC over allegations of unregistered offers and sales of its lending product.
According to an August 26 statement, Abra, operating as Plutus Lending, has agreed to pay undisclosed civil penalties and accept an injunction preventing future securities law violations.
The SEC had charged Abra with failing to register its Abra Earn product and operating as an unregistered investment company. Abra neither admitted nor denied the allegations as part of the settlement.
Other Market News
Binance, the leading cryptocurrency exchange, is constantly expanding its presence globally. It recently launched its One Click Buy and Sell service. The service has specifically been launched for crypto users in Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The expansion in services is followed by the surged adoption of digital assets in African nations. However, the former chief executive officer of Binance is facing allegations related to severe charges, including money laundering.
Russia is constantly working to reframe the environment for digital assets and related services in the region. It additionally announced the launch of two regional crypto exchanges to ease the landscape.
Earlier this week, China revised the Anti Money Laundering regulations identifying cryptocurrency transactions as illicit activity within the region.
As per available information, all activities related to cryptocurrencies were banned in China in 2021; before the restriction, the region was the preferred location of crypto miners.
Crypto Market Price Update
When writing, the global cryptocurrency market cap was $2.21 Trillion, with an intraday decline of 1.88%. The broader market has marked several milestones since the beginning of 2024, with Bitcoin hitting its all-time high in March 2024.
Market watchers claim that the approval of digital assets by-products backs the surged adoption of crypto users globally. At press time, BTC was trading at $63,140, a decline of 1.83% in the past 24 hours.
Ethereum, the second most prominent cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, has added 63.28% to its trading price in the past 52 weeks, reaching $2,687.
The Helium (HNT) token topped the intraday gainer’s list as its price surged over 16%, reaching $7.14, followed by Akash Network at $2.98 with 9.79% growth. DOGS (DOGS), a trending coin, lost 21.04% of its price, falling $0.001248.
