Tag: SEC

SEC Fraud Suit Forces Crypto VC Shima Capital into Wind-Down

Key Notes Shima Capital is planning an ‘orderly wind-down’ following an SEC lawsuit against its founder, Yida Gao. The SEC alleges Gao and Shima Capital raised nearly $170 million using marketing materials with false and misleading statements about investment returns. Gao is accused of claiming a 90x return on an investment that actually returned 2.8x. Crypto venture firm Shima Capital is initiating an “orderly wind-down” after the US Securities and Exchange Commission sued its founder, Yida Gao, for allegedly defrauding investors. The SEC’s complaint, filed November 25, accuses Gao and…

SEC Wraps Up Investigation Into Aave Protocol, Confirms CEO Stani Kulechov

boss

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially concluded its investigation into the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Aave (AAVE), marking a significant development in the ongoing evolution of regulatory approaches within the cryptocurrency industry.  Stani Kulechov, the founder and CEO of the Aave protocol, confirmed the end of the four-year investigation in a post on social media, expressing relief and optimism about the future of DeFi. Aave Founder Celebrates End Of SEC Investigation In his announcement, Kulechov emphasized the considerable effort and resources invested by the Aave team throughout…

SEC ‘Eased up on’ 60% of Crypto Enforcement Cases under Trump: NYT

boss

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has dismissed cryptocurrency cases under the Trump administration at a significantly higher rate than those involving other aspects of securities laws.  According to a Sunday report from The New York Times, since US President Donald Trump took office in January, the SEC has paused, dropped investigations related to or dismissed about 60% of cases involving companies and projects in the cryptocurrency industry. The report cited high-profile cases, including the SEC’s lawsuits against Ripple Labs and Binance, adding that the financial regulator was “no longer…

SEC Publishes Crypto Custody and Wallet Primer for Investing Public

boss

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a crypto wallet and custody guide investor bulletin on Friday, outlining best practices and common risks of different forms of crypto storage for the investing public. The SEC’s bulletin lists the benefits and risks of different methods of crypto custody, including self-custody versus allowing a third-party to hold digital assets on behalf of the investor. If investors choose third-party custody, they should understand the custodian’s policies, including whether it “rehypothecates” the assets held in custody by lending them out or if…

US Markets Race Toward Onchain Settlement After SEC No Action

boss

Traditional financial markets are moving rapidly onchain as the US Securities and Exchange Commission chair doubled down on the idea of an “innovation exemption” to accelerate tokenization. “U.S. financial markets are poised to move on-chain,” wrote Paul Atkins, chair of the SEC, in a Friday X post, adding that the agency is “embracing new technologies to enable this onchain future.” His comments come shortly after the SEC issued a “no action” letter to a subsidiary of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), enabling it to offer a new securities…

‘Bitcoin After Dark’ ETF Lands at SEC as Nicholas Wealth Unveils Night-Only Strategy

boss

Two unconventional bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) landed at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Dec. 9, 2025, and they arrived with enough personality to make even the most jaded ETF watcher raise an eyebrow. Bitcoin ETFs Get Weird: Night-Trading and Tail-Risk Designs Filed With SEC On Tuesday, Nicholas Wealth, LLC, in partnership with […] Original

ONDO Price Push? SEC Finally Drops Probe

Key Notes ONDO trading volume jumped 150% on December 9. Ondo Finance also saw a new ATH in TVL, reaching $1.866 billion. This comes as the SEC officially closed a multi-year investigation against the project. Ondo Finance saw renewed investor interest on Dec. 9 after announcing that the SEC has formally closed its multi-year investigation into the firm. ONDO ONDO $0.48 24h volatility: 0.9% Market cap: $1.51 B Vol. 24h: $161.80 M token’s spot trading volume surged by 150% in the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, ONDO…

‘European SEC’ Proposal Licensing Concerns, Institutional Ambitions

boss

The European Commission’s proposal to expand the powers of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) is raising concerns about the centralization of the bloc’s licensing regime, despite signaling deeper institutional ambitions for its capital markets structure. On Thursday, the Commission published a package proposing to “direct supervisory competences” for key pieces of market infrastructure, including crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), trading venues and central counterparties to ESMA, Cointelegraph reported. Concerningly, the ESMA’s jurisdiction would extend to both the supervision and licensing of all European crypto and financial technology (fintech) firms,…

Citadel Cops Furor for Urging SEC Police Stocks on DeFi

boss

Market maker Citadel Securities has recommended that the Securities and Exchange Commission tighten regulations on decentralized finance when it comes to tokenized stocks, causing backlash from crypto users. Citadel Securities told the SEC in a letter on Tuesday that DeFi developers, smart-contract coders, and self-custody wallet providers should not be given “broad exemptive relief” for offering trading of tokenized US equities. It argued that DeFi trading platforms likely fall under the definitions of an “exchange” or “broker-dealer” and should be regulated under securities laws if offering tokenized stocks. “Granting broad…

SEC Punches Brakes on 3-5x Leveraged Exchange-Traded Funds

boss

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent warning letters to several exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers, halting applications for leveraged ETFs that offer more than 200% exposure to the underlying asset. ETF issuers Direxion, ProShares, and Tidal received letters from the SEC citing legal provisions under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The law caps exposure of investment funds at 200% of their value-at-risk, defined by a “reference portfolio” of unleveraged, underlying assets or benchmark indexes. The SEC said: “The fund’s designated reference portfolio provides the unleveraged baseline against which…