Robinhood says it’s free from the SEC
The SEC is reportedly ditching its investigation into Robinhood’s crypto offering as a wave of favorable crypto regulation continues
No-Mad/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks
This is a segment from The Drop newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.
Robinhood’s crypto unit is no longer the subject of an SEC investigation.
“This investigation never should have been opened. Robinhood Crypto always has and will always respect federal securities laws and never allowed transactions in securities. As we explained to the SEC, any case against Robinhood Crypto would have failed,” said Dan Gallagher, chief legal, compliance and corporate affairs officer at Robinhood.
The SEC notified Robinhood of its intention to kill the probe on Friday, according to a Monday post on Robinhood’s website, after the SEC issued the firm a Wells notice last year.
Robinhood previously faced SEC scrutiny in 2020 over statements it made, and the company paid $65 million to settle the issue. In January, Robinhood agreed to pay an additional $45 million over a separate SEC issue over alleged securities violations.
Robinhood’s win this week follows the news that the SEC will scuttle investigations into both Coinbase and OpenSea. It means these companies can continue with business as usual — and you can keep trading without interruptions. And more ways to buy and sell crypto could be coming as more companies assess the favorable environment and decide to jump in.
It’s also a sign that we’re living in a new regulatory environment.
Long-time SEC Chair Gary Gensler — infamous for his anti-crypto stance — resigned last month when Trump took office. Crypto advocate Paul Atkins is Trump’s pick for the role. And Trump himself also has NFT collections and a memecoin.
With crypto making a comeback and regulators looking friendlier, other companies like GameStop, which previously dumped its NFT marketplace and wallet, are considering coming back into the fray.
Others are still shutting down despite favorable regulators, like The Mystery Society game, which announced its cancellation on Monday because “the state of web3 gaming is just too challenged right now.”
Crypto projects used to pull the plug on operations because of “regulatory concern.” The question now is, can they use that as an excuse anymore?
Also, will projects still use Cayman Islands foundations? Maybe not — but some, like the OpenSea Foundation, are still planning tokens that way just in case.
Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:
- The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
- 0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.
- Empire: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.
- Forward Guidance: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.
- The Drop: Apps, games, memes and more.
- Lightspeed: All things Solana.
- Supply Shock: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.
