Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has indicated that it is ‘probably’ going to register with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as regulators continue cracking down on the market.
Speaking at the Consensus conference in New York, Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, said:
We would probably get registered as a broker dealer and then an ATS. I don’t think it necessarily helps the business. I think we’re doing everything right anyway.
According to the SEC, an ATS, or Alternative Trading System, is a ‘trading system that meets the definition of “exchange” under federal securities laws but is not required to register as a national securities exchange if the ATS operates under the exemption provided under Exchange Act Rule 3a1-1(a).’
Any U.S.-based ATS is required to be approved by the SEC and is subject to its authority. As a result, this would bring Kraken further under the SEC’s oversight. This step, however, from the company may be considered one in a positive direction considering its less than friendly attitude to former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
In April, Schneiderman sent letters to Kraken and a number of other cryptocurrency exchanges seeking information on how they protect customers’ assets and their internal controls. However, Kraken dismissed the request, arguing that the enquiry was ‘insulting.’
In a report from Bloomberg, Powell said of the AG:
The AG doesn’t have any authority over us. Two things I really hate are bullies and hypocrites, and this guy is both.
Schneiderman resigned the 7th May amid allegations that he had assaulted women. In 2015, Kraken stopped operating in New York after the state’s financial services department created the BitLicense. Claimed to be too burdensome, a number of cryptocurrency exchanges have since left the state to set up their headquarters elsewhere. Last month, Kraken announced that it would be halting its trading services in Japan by June citing rising costs for its decision.
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