Crypto Community Alleges Prometheum’s US SEC And FINRA Approval Is Controversial

At a time when top crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase face wrath from US regulators such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A lesser-known crypto firm Prometheum gaining approval from the SEC and FINRA has caused a furor in the crypto community.

New York-based Prometheum came into the spotlight during the US House Financial Services Committee hearing “The Future of Digital Assets: Providing Clarity for the Digital Asset Ecosystem” held on June 13. Prometheum co-CEO Aaron Kaplan was announced as a witness in the hearing at the very end, which raised questions.

Prometheum’s US SEC And FINRA Approval Are “Nonsense”

During the US House Financial Services Committee hearing, Representative Mike Flood calls Prometheum’s US SEC and FINRA approval as “nonsense” as the firm doesn’t offer trading in top crypto assets Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

However, co-CEO Aaron Kaplan said the clear path forward for the digital asset industry in the U.S. is through the current regulatory frameworks set up by the US SEC. The crypto community claims Aaron Kaplan was reading off pre-written notes with narratives of Democratic members of Congress or the SEC.

In a series of tweets, Castle Island Ventures partner Matt Walsh shared some bizarre facts about Prometheum, its investors Wanxiang Blockchain and Hashkey Capital, and paying $1.5 million in sales commissions to Network 1 Financial Securities.

Aaron Kaplan was mentioning similar narratives of Gary Gensler-led SEC regarding preferred crypto market structure. Gensler argues most crypto are securities and as per him a regulated crypto exchange can operate, as long as it doesn’t actually enable the purchase or sale of crypto.

The crypto community including Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson has no idea who is Prometheum. Gemini co-founders Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss have also blasted the US SEC and Prometheum on their view of crypto.

The moral of the story: If you have a fake business you will get approved by the @SECGov, if you have a real business you will get sued by the SEC. 😂🤡 https://t.co/L9Yf4VnF5f

— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) June 15, 2023

In May, subsidiary Prometheum Ember Capital became the first SEC-qualified firm to offer custody of digital assets after receiving FINRA approval to operate as a special purpose broker-dealer (SPBD) for digital assets.

Adam Cochran argues the approval is controversial as many Prometheum employees are former SEC and FINRA staffers. He has also shared details about the firm and its under-the-radar operations.

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