Yesterday, February 9, the SEC investigation into the Kraken exchange was reported.. As it turned out, the regulator and the company have already agreed to stop the prosecution. The exchange must close its staking program and pay a $30 million fine.
“Today’s decision should send a message to the market that the staking offering must be registered with the regulator, be fully transparent and fair, and provide full investor protection,” said Commission Chairman Gary Gensler.
Kraken neither admitted nor denied the accusations, deciding to shut down the US staking service.. All assets will be de-staking and returned to users' wallets. With the exception of ETH – at the moment the coins are still locked without the possibility of their withdrawal. For residents of other countries, the service will continue to work without changes.
Against this background, SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce, who has long advocated the adoption of cryptocurrencies, issued a statement disagreeing with the position of the regulator.
“Today, the SEC shut down the Kraken staking service and considered it a victory for investors.. But I don't agree. Instead of thinking about and understanding staking programs and issuing proper guidelines, we again decided to act with bans, declare the need for registration. Using bans in a growing industry is a bad way to regulate. The main thing is that the program worked well and gave people income, but we completely closed it in the USA. The regulator again chose a lazy and ill-conceived approach, not initiating public discussions to develop a process for registering and protecting investors. I just closed the program,” Pierce laments.
It seems that Brian Armstrong's words about the possibility of a staking ban for retail investors in the US turned out to be true. He warned that such a decision would further slow down the development of the cryptosphere in the country.