Bitcoin falls after SEC warning that trading platforms could be ‘unlawful’
The price of bitcoin has fallen to a one-and-a-half-week low on Bitstamp, following a warning from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that some cryptocurrency trading platforms are “potentially unlawful.”
#Cryptocurrencies pose serious threat to Bank of America according to its SEC filings https://t.co/A6XAE0HlSxpic.twitter.com/R4e21fFTCq
— RT (@RT_com) February 24, 2018
In a statement posted on its website, the SEC said that if a platform offers to trade digital assets and operates as an “exchange”, it must also register with the regulator as a national securities exchange. “Many platforms refer to themselves as ‘exchanges,’ which can give the misimpression to investors that they are regulated or meet the regulatory standards of a national securities exchange,” the statement read.
"Although some of these platforms claim to use strict standards to pick only high-quality digital assets to trade, the SEC does not review these standards or the digital assets that the platforms select,” the securities regulator added.
Today, the Divisions of Enforcement and Trading and Markets issued this important statement on “potentially unlawful platforms trading digital assets.” https://t.co/Npm4NHxa1t
— SEC_News (@SEC_News) March 7, 2018
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Bitcoin, the world’s best-known digital currency, fell 7.53 percent to $9,924 following the statement. It had fallen as low as $9,450 earlier on Wednesday. The sell-off also hit other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin.
