-
The
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
filed
a
cease-and-desist
against
crypto
exchange
ShapeShift,
barring
it
from
operating
as
an
unregistered
dealer
in
the
U.S.
that
listed
crypto
securities. -
ShapeShift
offered
to
settle
the
charges,
which
the
SEC
said
it
accepted.
The
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
filed
a
cease-and-desist
against
ShapeShift,
a
crypto
exchange
that
previously
operated
out
of
Denver,
Colorado,
but
has
since
shut
down
its
U.S.
exchange
operations,
alleging
it
operated
before
2021
as
an
unregistered
dealer
for
cryptocurrencies
that
were
securities.
As
part
of
Tuesday’s
filing,
the
SEC
said
it
would
accept
a
settlement
offer
by
ShapeShift,
which
included
a
$275,000
fine
and
an
agreement
that
the
company
would
no
longer
violate
the
Securities
Exchange
Act.
ShapeShift
offered
“at
least
79
crypto
assets”
to
its
customers,
which
included
“those
that
were
offered
and
sold
as
investment
contracts,”
the
filing
said,
though
it
did
not
name
any
specific
digital
assets
as
being
securities.
However,
it
said
the
exchange
operated
as
an
unregistered
dealer
in
the
U.S.
between
2014
and
2021,
an
accusation
similar
to
the
one
the
SEC
brought
against
other
U.S.
crypto
exchanges
like
Coinbase,
Kraken
and
Binance.US.
“ShapeShift
regularly
bought
and
sold
crypto
assets
for
and
from
its
own
accounts,
carrying
inventory
in
–
and
holding
itself
out
to
customers
as
willing
to
buy
and
sell
–
the
crypto
assets
offered
on
ShapeShift.io,”
the
filing
said.
The
company
shut
the
U.S.
exchange
in
2021,
the
SEC
said.
A
footnote
also
noted
that
the
findings
in
the
cease-and-desist
“are
not
binding
on
any
other
person
or
entity
in
this
or
any
other
proceeding.”
Neither
SEC
spokespeople
nor
ShapeShift
founder
Erik
Voorhees
immediately
responded
to
requests
for
comment.
