SEC Cracks Down on Robinhood Crypto! Could Your Favorite Coins Be Delisted?
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a subpoena to the American trading platform Robinhood over its crypto listings. The recent development was brought to public light by Robinhood through its latest 10-K filing with the SEC.
Subpoena and Delisting Concerns
The SEC’s subpoena requests information about Robinhood’s custody measures and operations related to the assets it currently lists. Robinhood revealed that the investigative subpoena, which could damage its brand, was served to them following the bankruptcies that rocked the crypto scene last year. The platform noted that it could be forced to delist cryptocurrencies regarded as securities by the SEC or a court.
If that happens, Robinhood users might see some of their favorite coins, such as Ethereum (ETH), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Dogecoin (DOGE), disappear from the platform. Much like Coinbase, Robinhood does not provide support for XRP due to the legal situation surrounding the asset.
SEC Chair’s Opinion
The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, explained why he believes all crypto tokens other than bitcoin are securities in an interview published Thursday by New York Magazine’s Intelligencer.
Gensler believes that the securities watchdog has all of the legal tools needed to oversee the crypto sector, adding that pretty much every sort of crypto transaction already falls under the SEC’s jurisdiction except spot transactions in bitcoin itself and the actual purchase or sale of goods or services with cryptocurrencies.
Gensler’s comments suggest that the SEC has its eyes on the entire crypto industry and could be targeting more platforms beyond Robinhood. According to Gensler, the SEC has the legal authority to regulate any token deemed security, which he believes includes almost every token other than bitcoin.
Mixed Reactions to Social Media
Following Gensler’s claim that all crypto tokens other than BTC are securities, a number of people took to social media to disagree with the SEC chief.
Lawyer Jake Chervinsky tweeted that “Chair Gensler may have prejudged that every digital asset aside from bitcoin is a security, but his opinion is not the law. The SEC lacks the authority to regulate any of them until and unless it proves its case in court. For each asset, every single one, individually, one at a time.”
Logan Bolinger, another lawyer, similarly said on Twitter: “In this country, judges — not SEC chairs — ultimately determine what the law means and how it applies. That doesn’t mean his thoughts are irrelevant. They’re just not dispositive.”
Robinhood’s Response
Robinhood has yet to comment on the SEC’s subpoena publicly. The company recently announced that it is planning to file for an initial public offering (IPO), which could be worth up to $40 billion. However, the subpoena could have an impact on Robinhood’s IPO valuation if it leads to a long and protracted legal battle with the SEC.
The Future of $600 Million Robinhood Shares in Jeopardy as Emergent Fidelity Files for Bankruptcy
Emergent Fidelity Technologies, a firm co-founded by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and former executive Gary Wang has recently made headlines with its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This move has sparked questions about the future of the company and its valuable assets, particularly its 56 million shares of Robinhood Markets (HOOD) stock.
The Value of Robinhood Shares
With a current value of over $600 million, these Robinhood shares have quickly become a highly sought-after asset for various companies, including creditors of FTX. The shares have also been pledged as collateral to bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi, which placed its own claim on them last year.
Despite Bankman-Fried’s argument that he should retain control of the shares, federal officials moved to seize them in January. This has sparked a heated debate over who should have control over these valuable assets.
Ownership Structure of Emergent Fidelity
Bankman-Fried is the owner of 90% of Emergent Fidelity, while Wang holds the remaining 10%. However, with the bankruptcy filing, it is unclear what the future holds for the company and its assets.
The exact details of Emergent Fidelity’s bankruptcy filing could not be immediately obtained. It remains uncertain what debts the company is claiming at this time. The bank proceedings will start in the coming weeks and everyone is waiting to find out what the future holds for the creditors
How Much Robinhood is Holding in Shiba Inu and Ethereum?
Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ: HOOD) holds approximately 8 percent of its assets in Ethereum-based Shiba Inu. According to Coinbase director Conor Grogan, Robinhood holds approximately $266 million in Shiba Inu, per publicly tagged wallets. In total, Grogan noted that Robinhood holds approximately $3.37 billion in digital assets on Ethereum Virtual Machines (EVM).
Robinhood has significantly shifted to the crypto market in the past three years with its launch of the Polygon (MATIC) Web3 wallet. According to the trading company, Robinhood Wallet allows users to swap crypto with no fees through the Polygon network.
“Not including BTC, Robinhood holds less than half of a percent of assets on chains outside of Ethereum, and only about a million on MATIC. I found this interesting because Robinhood’s Wallet is on Polygon,” Grogan added.
The company holds Ethereum mostly in its assets amounting to about $3.35 billion. Otherwise, the company does not hold Polygon assets but has about $17.42 million on the Avalanche network.
Shiba Inu Bigger Picture
With about 1,287,999 holders, Shiba Inu has grown to a $6.3 billion valued ecosystem. However, it is the Shibarium beta launch that has sparked optimism in the Shiba Inu ecosystem. Notably, the layer 2 Shibarium network is expected to bring scalable Web3 development to the Shiba Inu ecosystem.
As such, several non-custodial crypto wallets including Atomic have announced the support of the Shibarium network.
Nonetheless, Shiba Inu’s price seems to have hit a rather strong psychological resistance level of around $ 0.000011521. Notably, it is at this level that Shiba Inu capitulated after the FTX fiasco late last year.
SBF’s Lawsuit Intensifies: DoJ to Seize $460M Stake in Robinhood
On Tuesday, Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, proclaimed his innocence regarding the various counts of U.S. criminal charges brought against him. Bankman-Fried, accompanied by his lawyer Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell, appeared at a hearing in the U.S. District Court in New York City. Court filings allege that Bankman-Fried is facing charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and market manipulation.
Additionally, billions of dollars are missing from the FTX balance sheet, leading to accusations that Bankman-Fried misappropriated customers’ and investors’ money to fund risky Alameda businesses.
Will FTX Investors Get Justice?
The charges brought against Sam Bankman-Fried highlight the lack of clarity in crypto regulations and the need for financial institutions to adhere to higher standards. Despite its importance, this issue has been neglected by regulators for too long. The most pressing question is who will protect investors from predatory tokenomics and unclear regulations.
To the relief of FTX stakeholders, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to seize approximately $460 million in Robinhood shares belonging to Bankman-Fried.
U.S. Attorney Seth Shapiro informed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, who is overseeing the FTX bankruptcy proceedings, that the DOJ does not consider Robinhood’s 56 million shares worth an estimated $465 million to be part of the bankruptcy estate.
Legal experts believe that Bankman-Fried will face a long legal battle as a result. In addition, Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang have pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to fully cooperate with government prosecutors against Bankman-Fried.
“It’s going to be a very tough task for Bankman-Fried to ultimately prevail at trial. And while Bankman-Fried could be hoping for leniency, he may end up with a more severe sentence than he originally bargained for,” Mark A. Kasten, a partner at law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC Counsel, noted.
Nonetheless, SBF has continued to maintain his stance that he is innocent, stating that he did not engage in any illegal activity and that the charges against him are unfounded. His legal counsel will continue to argue this position in court, but it appears unlikely that SBF will be able to escape the allegations unscathed.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also taken an interest in the case, with SBF facing potential civil charges from that agency as well. This is yet another reminder of how serious financial crimes are taken and serves to deter anyone from engaging in similar actions in the future.
After Shiba INU(SHIB), Will TerraClassic(LUNC) be Listed on Robinhood?
The post After Shiba INU(SHIB), Will TerraClassic(LUNC) be Listed on Robinhood? appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
The TerraClassic price has recently been in the spotlight as the LUNC and USTC prices appear to be quite bullish. While the USTC price appeared to be confident in regaining its peg, the stablecoin has once again scrambled into the deep bearish well. Woefully, market conditions have deteriorated in the last 3 to 4 days, dragging the price below $0.00027 at the moment.
Despite the fact that market conditions are not favorable to bulls, interest in listing the TerraClassic cryptocurrency on Robinhood has emerged in the space.
We will get $LUNC listed on #robinhood!
As long as we work together this will become a reality!#LuncOnRobinhood LETS GET IT TRENDING!
Make sure to read my latest blog to support: https://t.co/j8vde1451z#LUNCBURN #LUNC
— CryptoKing
(@CryptoKing_NFT) October 18, 2022
Shiba Army had previously launched a campaign to list the token on Robinhood, and the asset was live for trading on the platform after 6 months. Therefore, if the campaign is pretty strong enough, LUNC may also be listed on Robinhood soon.
However, this does not change the fact that the SHIB price was merely influenced by the listing, and thus a larger variation in the LUNC price cannot be expected either.
TerraClassic (LUNC) Price Analysis
- The Terra Classic price has been trading within the same descending parallel channel since it was rejected from the monthly highs.
- However, after trading in the average ranges for a while, the price appeared to have risen above the ranges at the moment.
- Regrettably, bearish interference has dragged the price lower, and the asset may once again fall below $0.0025 in the coming days.
- In such a scenario, the LUNC price will certainly remain bearish for an extended period of time.
Terra Classic Community Appeals Robinhood To List LUNC
It’s been almost four months since Terra network’s LUNA collapsed along with its stablecoin, USTD, which was dipping against the US dollar. However, it didn’t take too long for the network to bounce back. Within a month, the network introduced a new chain known as Terra Classic (LUNC) and, sometime later, its stablecoin TerraClassicUSTC.
The victims of the Terra collapse are looking for every possible way to retain Terra Classic (LUNC) and TerraClassicUSTC (USTC). One such method is a 1.2% tax burn for all LUNC on-chain transactions, which is being supported by major crypto exchanges, like Binance.
Now, the Terra Classic community has come forward with a proposal of listing LUNC on Robinhood, a no-commission investing platform. This happened after a petition was put forth via Change.org asking Robinhood to list LUNC on its trading platform.
LUNC On Robinhood?
The appeal was submitted by a Terra Classic supporter, known as QDS Land, in the month of September. The petition requires at least 5,000 signatures but as of now, it has just received 3,725 signatures.
He believes that if LUNC is listed on Robinhood it will be beneficial to the trading firms, LUNC holders and the Robinhood platform as well. This is because currently there are nearly 1.5 million LUNC holders who trade billions of dollars volume trading every day.
He has also stated that around 300,000 wallets were created before he submitted the petition; hence, he asserts that with these numbers, even Robinhood would benefit immensely.
However, Robinhood has not yet responded to the petition, nor has the petition garnered enough signatures. Even if it does, the final decision about the listing lies with the platform.
Earlier, the same platform, Change.org, was used by the Shiba Inu community to file a request for listing SHIB on the Robinhood platform. Within a short period of time, the petition gained 559,737 signatures and Shiba Inu was finally listed on the platform.
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Comparing The Top 3 Mobile Trading Apps: PrimeXBT, eToro, & Robinhood
There are three major players in the mobile app territory in the Apple App Store for iPhone and Google Play Store for Android devices. The three, in particular, were selected due to the wide range of products and services available to investors and traders.
The following comparison will put PrimeXBT, eToro, and Robinhood head-to-head and pick a winner based on which offers the most robust experience all around.
Invest and Trade Traditional Markets And Crypto On The Same App
Each app is available as a free download for Android and iPhone and enables access to each platform while on the go. Many users prefer the simplicity of the mobile app experience over the browser-based versions of each platform and use mobile apps exclusively.
All three mobile applications also offer users the ability to invest in and trade cryptocurrencies and traditional assets on the same platform. PrimeXBT’s list includes crypto, commodities, stock indices, and forex currencies; eToro offers stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies; and Robinhood has crypto, stocks, ETFs, and options.
Regardless of who you go with, you can build a diverse portfolio of assets designed to withstand risk and increase the probability of strong ROI. Each platform allows you to buy crypto or go long or short any of the instruments listed on the platform. The primary difference here is that PrimeXBT provides up to 200x leverage on crypto, while other platforms don’t even come close.
UI Design And Platform Functionality Compared: Copy Trading Completes The Lineup
Regarding design and usability, eToro is the least visually appealing, with the website and app looking very standard and dull. PrimeXBT and Robinhood are much more stylish and user-friendly, with an appearance that resembles the digital asset class and is on par with high-end mobile applications.
Robinhood has an ultra-futuristic visual appeal, but for the extra flair, the platform passes on functionality and is very limited compared to PrimeXBT and eToro. For example, PrimeXBT and eToro each let users copy the trades of more skilled traders.
PrimeXBT’s Covesting copy trading module connects followers and strategy managers through a transparent leaderboard system that tracks all trading history and performance metrics. eToro’s social trading experience is a bit more popularity based. Traders must apply for the program with eToro, while PrimeXBT is a peer-to-peer trading community that anyone can join regardless of skill level.
24/7 Customer Service And Industry Accolades: PrimeXBT App Wins Forex Award
Each of the platforms has a glowing reputation. Robinhood has at times been in the spotlight for halting trading activity, but overall remains a trusted platform. eToro regularly works with big-name celebrities in its marketing campaigns, while PrimeXBT prefers to work with top traders and influential figures from the finance and cryptocurrency industries.
Users can connect to 24/7 customer services 365 days per year. All three platforms are also known for their strong security, with none of the companies ever being subject to a breach or hack. The apps have additional security features, such as two-factor authentication.
Only one of these three apps has won an award for outstanding all-around performance in its mobile application, and that platform is PrimeXBT. The PrimeXBT smartphone app was awarded Best Crypto Trading App from The Forex Awards. The margin trading platform also has a number of other accolades.
Download The Award-Winning PrimeXBT App Today For Android Or iOS
When it comes to convenience, power, and a complete experience with margin trading, copy trading, and much more, only PrimeXBT has it all. eToro and Robinhood are undoubtedly impressive and deserving of the top three status but lack key features that enable them to be a one-stop-shop for investors and traders.
PrimeXBT also offers weekly trading competitions, an educational website with trading tips, regular market updates, and much more. The rapidly-growing trading platform is constantly releasing new features or improving existing ones.
In the past several weeks, the mobile app alone has had its withdrawal system overhauled, new Covesting features added, and the ability to share ROI with other traders online from the account history section. Download the award-winning PrimeXBT app today at the Google Play Store for Android or the Apple App Store for iOS devices.
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What Next For ADA Price Ahead Of Robinhood Listing Cardano?
Blockchain Cardano’s Vasil Upgrade has been confirmed for September 22. Initially, the hard fork had been scheduled for a June release but was postponed due to disruptions.
On September 1, the leading cryptocurrency exchange – Robinhood announced the addition of Cardano’s ADA coin to its list of tradable assets on its platform.
CoinMarketCap data reveals that Cardano has been trading at $0.47, with a 3% growth in price over the last 24 hours.
The insignificant price reaction by ADA was an indication that the centralized exchange does not possess the same pull as Coinbase. On Coinbase, a coin’s listing results in double-digit price rallies for the asset in under a day.
With the announcement that the Vasil Upgrade is set to happen this month, the listing is a welcome development within the Cardano Ecosystem that can help propel the price of the network’s native coin upward, following a significantly bearish trend last month.
Notably, $146.81 million was taken out of the entire cryptocurrency market in the last 24 hours. ADA liquidations within the same period made up 0.5% of the total amount removed.
The last 24-hour data from Coinglass showed that $677,000 worth of ADA was liquidated. Considering the minor improvement in price in the last 24 hours, liquidations were not major either. This hints that there wasn’t a lot of market hype with respect to the news of the listing.
No Impact on ADA Price
ADA’s price movements on the daily chart showed that coin-buying on the network had lost some momentum.
The daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) was at 44 in a downtrend. Also, the coin’s Money Flow Index (MFI) was spotted at 39 at press time far from the neutral 50 support.
Additionally, below the central (0.0) line, the dynamic line (green) of ADA’s Chaikin’s Money Flow was pinned at -0.19.
Hence, we may imply that even after its listing on Robinhood, the buying pressure for Cardano (ADA) had dwindled in the last 24 hours.
According to Santiment’s data, the search for the term “Vasil” has increased tremendously over the past few weeks. This hints that even after the constant decline in ADA’s price and postponement of the Vasil hard fork, the upgrade remains highly anticipated.
Investors To Exercise Caution
Notably, ADA’s On-Balance-Volume (OBV) has grown steadily since June, indicating that buyers continue to accumulate. But still, on August 23, the coin logged a sharp drop in its Mean Coin Age.
Such downfalls usually indicate an increased movement of ADA between addresses and a slowed network-wide coin accumulation.
Therefore, with a further downside in price imminent, caution is advised.
Cardano’s Upgrade Coming Up this Month!
On Friday, a tweet thread announced that the Cardano blockchain’s Vasil hard fork upgrade is now scheduled to take place on its main network on September 22, Input-Output (IOG), the blockchain’s development lab.
“VASIL UPGRADE: DATE CONFIRMED
Following the successful completion & extensive testing of all core components, plus confirmed community readiness, we along with @cardanostiftung can today announce 22nd September for the Vasil upgrade on the #Cardano mainnet.”
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Robinhood Lists Cardano (ADA) Ahead Of Vasil Hard Fork
It’s official now! The commission-free investment app Robinhood has now listed Cardano (ADA0 along with a few other cryptocurrencies after a huge demand. ADA holders can now buy and sell their Cardano holdings without any additional commission or fees.
At the moment, Cardano, the eighth largest cryptocurrency by market cap is trading at $0.44 with a pull off by 1.36% over the last 24hrs.
The listing was confirmed through Twitter by Robinhood today as the platform received massive demand to list Cardano (ADA). However, the users have to wait before starting their trade as the service is yet to start.
The Cardano community is now more optimistic on Cardano as a result of the listing of Cardano (ADA) shortly before the long awaited Vasil hard fork. Cardano’s creator, Charles Hoskinson, has previously asserted that the Vasil hard fork will probably take place in September.
Recently, the platform had listed Compound (COMP), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), and Chainlink (LINK) and in July Robinhood had also supported Avalanche (AVAX) and Stellar (XLM).
Additionally, along with ADA, the financial service company offered assistance for deposit and withdrawal of MATIC tokens on Polygon blockchain. This service will allow 37,000 dApps on Polygon to operate lending, borrowing and swapping.
The Cardano (ADA) is expected to reach around $0.55 with Vasil hard fork around the corner. The 1.35.3 node’s SPOs are responsible for 85% of mainnet block manufacturing, according to data from PoolTool. For the Vasil hard fork, a target of 75% was set. Exchanges and dApps, however, take time to respond.