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Fintech firm settles with SEC over crypto lending product.
Linus Financial has agreed to stop offering its retail crypto lending product as part of the settlement.
Linus Financial, a Tennessee-based financial technology company, has settled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged securities laws violations.
Linus agreed to stop offering its retail crypto lending product. Per the settlement agreement, Linus Financial opted to neither confirm nor deny the charges, the SEC said Thursday.
According to the regulator, Linus offered its retail crypto lending product between March 2020 and April 2022.
Linus converted tendered assets into USDC and either transferred the USDC into liquidity pools on decentralized finance platforms or directly lent the USDC to institutional borrowers to generate returns for retail investors. Interest rates were generally between 3.5% and 4.5%, the SEC said.
The SEC claims that the retail product contained an investment contract, thus subjecting it to laws under the Securities Act.
In March 2022, after increased regulatory scrutiny on the crypto lending industry, Linus opted to unwind its retail product, directing investors to withdraw funds and closing the offering to new investors. All investor funds had been claimed by late April 2022, the regulator said. In light of Linus’ proactive decision to halt the product in 2022, on Thursday, the SEC said it would not be imposing civil penalties against Linus, instead opting to issue a formal cease and desist to the company from offering the product again. Stacy Bogert, associate director of the agency’s Division of Enforcement, said that “[t]he SEC will continue to hold companies accountable for failing to comply with federal securities laws.
#ContentStar# #BountyCreator# #GateioBountyCreator# #NewsMessenger# #GateLive# #contentstar# #MyFancyCreator# #HotTopicDiscussion# Ice Cold: Feds Freeze Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky's Assets
The Department of Justice has ordered the freezing of Alex Mashinsky's bank accounts, including those at Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, First Republic Securities, SoFi Bank, and SoFi Securities. Mashinsky, the alleged crypto conman and former CEO of Celsius Network, is facing seven criminal charges related to fraud and misleading investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Federal Trade Commission have also filed civil charges against Celsius, accusing the company of selling unregistered securities and providing false information to customers What’s Happening in Crypto Market?
The entire crypto market is swinging from side to side, comfortable in smooth curves and in limited range. After the FTX fallout in 2022, the trust on such currencies has been crushed and the market turned totally in the downside range with no signs of cooling down. However, 2023 gave a fresh opening to major digital currencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum and the crypto market has gradually started turning green due to the relaxed macroeconomic situation and cooling inflation.
But, market sentiment has been turning from “fear” to “greed” and now to “neutral”. This is the nature of the cryptocurrency market which is highly volatile and changes unexpectedly. The cryptocurrency market which showed a kind of stability and steadiness last month, is again showing nervousness as markets are feeling very jittery about the rate hikes happening in the U.S. and its impact on liquidity.
The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, at the time of writing trading for $29,150 according to CoinMarketCap, with 1% 24-hour fall.
If one thing which is really moving Bitcoin and the overall crypto markets upside down is the stance of the U.S. Federal Reserve on interest rate hikes. Bitcoin after crossing the level of $31,000 is now trading in consolidated range as investors are eagerly looking nervous.
If we see the current volume in the digital market, then it stands at $1.18 trillion, at the time of writing. However, if we talk about the world’s two largest currencies, BTC and ETH which were clearly topping the charts till last month are showing little signs of recovery at the moment. Bitcoin is trading at $29,150 levels and Ethereum is moving around the levels of $1,850,registering a plunge of 1%, at the time of writing.
Crypto experts believe that the current situation is difficult and the road to recovery is very long. As most of the currencies still lag very much behind their all-time highs. Such as Bitcoin is still more than 50% down from its all-time high level which touched in November 2021 at $69,000, similarly Ethereum which is now trading at the levels of $1,800, touched the all-time high levels of $4,000, way back in 2021.
That said, till now the crypto market has undoubtedly responded positively to the global financial uncertainties and has been able to stay strong amid tightening credit conditions and shaky bond market volatility, but since crypto cannot sail alone in this boat, all the other financial assets have to follow the same sentiment for a balanced atmosphere.
Step-by-Step Guide On How To Invest In Indian Cryptocurrency Market
Select A Crypto Currency: Choose a crypto coin in which you want to invest. Like any other asset class, each cryptocurrency has its own fundamentals and are backed by different blockchain networks, mining techniques and intrinsic value. As cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile, it is crucial to do your research well and then decide how much money is to be put in that specific cryptocurrency.
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