The U.S. Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) has moved to dismiss its lawsuit in opposition to Cumberland DRW, a Chicago-based buying and selling agency, over allegations of working as an unregistered vendor within the crypto asset market.
The dismissal, agreed upon in precept on February 20, 2025, is at the moment pending Fee approval.
“Immediately we signed a joint submitting to be made with the Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) dismissing its case in opposition to Cumberland DRW,” the agency said in a March 4 post on X.
SEC’s Unique Allegations In opposition to Cumberland DRW
The authorized dispute started on October 10, 2024, when the SEC charged Cumberland DRW with violating Part 15(a) of the Securities Trade Act of 1934. Notedly, the company alleged that since at the very least March 2018, Cumberland had acted as an unregistered vendor by partaking within the buy and sale of crypto property deemed to be securities, accumulating over $2 billion in transactions.
In line with the SEC’s grievance, Cumberland performed these transactions through its on-line platform, Marea, and thru direct counterparty buying and selling.
The company additional claimed that Cumberland facilitated the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies, together with Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), Cosmos (ATOM), Algorand (ALGO), and Filecoin (FIL), which the SEC considers funding contracts.
“The federal securities legal guidelines require all sellers in all securities to register with the Fee, and people who function within the crypto asset markets aren’t any exception,” stated Jorge G. Tenreiro, Appearing Chief of the SEC’s Crypto Belongings and Cyber Unit. The SEC sought civil penalties, disgorgement of income, and injunctive aid in its lawsuit.
Cumberland’s Response and Broader Trade Implications
Cumberland DRW denied the SEC’s allegations, arguing that the fees mirrored a broader regulatory method that stifles innovation within the cryptocurrency sector.
Notably, the agency maintained that its operations didn’t violate securities legal guidelines and expressed confidence in partaking with the SEC to defend its practices.
The current determination to dismiss the case aligns with a broader pattern of the SEC dropping authorized actions in opposition to a number of crypto-related corporations.
In current weeks, the regulatory physique has ended investigations into firms equivalent to Gemini, OpenSea, Robinhood Crypto, Yuga Labs, and Coinbase. In the meantime, different entities like ConsenSys and Kraken await SEC approval for his or her lawsuit dismissals.
Learn Additionally: SEC Closes Investigation Into Robinhood Crypto, No Action to Be Taken
With the withdrawal of this case, Cumberland DRW turns into the most recent agency to flee the SEC’s rising scrutiny over crypto market individuals. Nevertheless, regulatory uncertainty stays a major problem, with the business carefully watching how the SEC proceeds with enforcement actions in opposition to digital asset corporations.
