Benzinga | Aug 9, 2021 11:38AM EDT

SEC Brings $10M Lawsuit Against Crypto Exchange Poloniex: What Investors Should Know

Cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex has been fined by the SEC. Here's what investors should know.

What Happened: Poloniex, a cryptocurrency exchange, was fined $10 million by the SEC for operating an "unregistered online digital asset exchange," according to a report from a crypto publication The Block.

The company has not admitted or denied the SEC charges but has agreed to pay the fine.

The exchange was purchased by Circle in 2018 for 400 million and was later spun out by the company in 2019 and launching a new firm.

The timeframe in question by the SEC is July 2017 to November 2019.

The complaint from the SEC says Poloniex sold digital assets that were securities while it was not registered to do so.

"Poloniex chose increased profits over compliance with the federal securities laws by including digital asset securities on its unregistered exchanged," the SEC Enforcement Division Chief Kristina Littman said.

Circle had set aside $10 million in anticipation of the SEC fine. The company offered to settle the case previously for $10.4 million.

Meanwhile, the payment company is going public via SPAC merger with Concord Acquisition Corp (NYSE:CND).

Price Action: CND shares are up 2.50% to $10.67 on Monday.

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