The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued cryptocurrency trading platform Bittrex for breaking securities laws, even though the exchange is actively winding down its operations in the country.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on April 18, 2023, sharing his personal views on crypto markets and regulation.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group, a leading derivatives marketplace, has announced plans to expand its cryptocurrency options offerings by introducing new options for its standard and micro-sized Bitcoin and Ether contracts.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• SEC Sues Bittrex for Alleged Securities Violations
• SEC Chair Takes Aim at DeFi Platforms in Testimony Before House Financial Services Committee
• CME Group Expands Bitcoin and Ether Option Expiries
• Bitcoin Market Cycle Analysis & Halving Influence

SEC Sues Bittrex for Alleged Securities Violations

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued cryptocurrency trading platform Bittrex for breaking securities laws, even though the exchange is actively winding down its operations in the country.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Bittrex and its former CEO, Bill Shihara, deliberately avoided the federal securities laws’ registration requirements by telling crypto asset issuers to remove some statements from their offering materials that would suggest that they were securities.

The regulator also says Bittrex earned at least $1.3 billion in revenues from transaction fees from investors without registering or complying with U.S. securities laws. The lawsuit comes after Bittrex announced that it planned to shutdown its operations in the United States by the end of April.

The SEC filed the lawsuit as part of its ongoing efforts to safeguard investors and ensure compliance in the crypto markets. SEC Chair Gary Gensler stated that “crypto markets suffer from a lack of regulatory compliance, not a lack of regulatory clarity” and “cosmetic alterations did nothing to change the underlying economic realities of the offerings and Bittrex’s conduct.”

Earlier, Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase revealed it has received a Wells notice, which indicates it could soon face enforcement action from the SEC. The regulator has been criticized for not providing clarity on the rules it’s enforcing.

This criticism reached a peak over the weekend when U.S. Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH) announced his plan to introduce legislation for the purpose of removing the SEC chair from his position.

SEC Chair Takes Aim at DeFi Platforms in Testimony Before House Financial Services Committee

SEC Chair Gary Gensler will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on April 18, 2023, sharing his personal views on crypto markets and regulation.

The hearing will see Gensler address the crypto market in his prepared remarks and emphasize that most tokens are seen as securities, and compliance with securities laws is mandatory.

Gensler notes the risks and conflicts of interest arising from crypto intermediaries combining various functions and argues that crypto investors should enjoy the same protection as other investors.

The SEC Chair also highlights the lack of compliance in the crypto markets, which he says endangers investors and public trust, and explains the SEC's actions to address these issues through enforcement and rule proposals. Gensler stresses that regulation aims to protect U.S. investors, and Congress has mandated the SEC to do so, regardless of the labels or technology used in investments.

CME Group Expands Bitcoin and Ether Option Expiries

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group, a leading derivatives marketplace, has announced plans to expand its cryptocurrency options offerings by introducing new options for its standard and micro-sized Bitcoin and Ether contracts.

These options contracts, which are subject to regulatory approval, will be available from May 22, with expiries occurring every business day from Monday to Friday. As a result, CME says, they’ll grant traders increased flexibility in managing short-term price risks.

Additionally, options for micro-sized Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts will include Tuesday and Thursday expiries, supplementing the existing Monday, Wednesday, and Friday contracts.

These newly added expiries will complement the current monthly and quarterly expiries available across all Bitcoin and Ether options on futures contracts.

CME Group first introduced its Bitcoin futures contract in December 2017 and followed with an Ether futures contract in February 2021. In response to the rising demand for cryptocurrency investment options, the exchange expanded its offerings in 2022 to include micro Bitcoin and Ether futures.

Bitcoin Market Cycle Analysis & Halving Influence

A comparison of Bitcoin’s past and present trends can reveal insights into its current performance. The previous two cycles had a minimum of 500 days of accumulation from the market low after the breakout to the halving date

Based on this pattern, if we consider November last year as the market low for this cycle (when Bitcoin reached a yearly low of $15,760), then we are still in the early stage of this cycle, with only 129 days as of March 30th.

Dig deeper into the cryptocurrency world through CCData’s latest Outlook Report.

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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