The United States-based crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association has submitted a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commissionโs (SEC) Office of Inspector General calling for an investigation into crypto firm Prometheum.
In a July 12 letter, the Blockchain Association requested SEC inspector general Deborah Jeffrey look into the Financial Industry Regulatory Authorityโs approval of Prometheumโs special purpose broker-dealer license (SPBD). The group also raised concerns about the means by which co-CEO Aaron Kaplan secured a seatย testifying before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee in June.
The advocacy group said the fact Prometheum had been able to obtain a SPBD license in May 2023 was โconcerningโ given the uncertainty around U.S. securities laws applying to crypto firms. According to the Blockchain Association, Prometheum changed its public position of calling for regulatory clarity from the SEC in April 2021 to claiming โthere exists a clear pathway to registration for digital assets and legislation is unnecessaryโ.
โWe are concerned that the Commission granted Prometheum a โsweetheartโ deal in exchange for support of the Commissionโs policy goals, or that Prometheum is leveraging personal connections with the Commission to gain an unfair advantage in the market,โ said the association. โMost significantly, we are concerned that Chair Gensler is using Prometheum and the SPBD licensure process as a means to thwart congressional efforts toward legislation by continuing to spread the false narrative that the law is already clear with regard to digital asset securities.โ
1/ Today, @blockchainassn submitted a letter to the SEC Office of Inspector General requesting the OIG open an investigation into potential impropriety surrounding the approval of Prometheum as a first-of-its-kind Special Purpose Broker-Dealer.@KMSmithDC stated: pic.twitter.com/dVtTs0yMEg
โ Blockchain Association (@BlockchainAssn) July 12, 2023
Related: Blockchain Association seeks info from Fed, FDIC and OCC on โde-bankingโ crypto firms
The call for an investigation into Prometheum followed a Freedom of Information Act request from the advocacy group in June seeking documents and communications related to the firmโs license. According to the Blockchain Association, it was still โwaiting for answersโ regarding the information.
Cointelegraph reached out to Prometheum co-CEO Aaron Kaplan but did not receive a response at the time of publication. Several U.S. lawmakers have also called for a Department of Justice and SEC investigation into Prometheum over alleged ties to China-based firms, which seemingly has no connection to the Blockchain Associationโs allegations.
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