Bakkt Is Delisting Solana, Polygon and Cardano Citing Regulatory Uncertainty: Fortune
New York Stock Exchange listed company Bakkt is delisting Solana, Polygon and Cardano citing regulatory uncertainty, according to Fortune.
This comes days after the US Securities and Exchange Commission said those three cryptocurrencies, among others, are securities.
Marc D’Annunzio, Bakkt general counsel and secretary, told Fortune in a statement published on Friday that the company was taking proactive steps “ “until there is further clarity on how to compliantly offer a more extensive list of coins.”
Bakkt’s move comes less than a week after Robinhood made a similar move, saying it would end support for those cryptocurrencies on June 27.
SEC’s pursuit
The SEC sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao on June 5 over their “blatant disregard” of securities laws, including operating an exchange illegally and defrauding investors.
A day after suing Binance, the SEC sued Coinbase and said it was unlawfully operating its exchange without registering with the agency.
The regulator also charged the US crypto exchange for the unregistered offer and sale of securities related to its staking-as-a-service program.
In both those charges, the SEC said Solana, Polygon and Cardano along with others, were securities.
SEC Chair Gary Gensler has said most cryptocurrencies are securities while also calling on crypto exchanges to register.
Gensler reiterated that position at a Piper Sandler Global Exchange & Fintech Conference on June 8.
“They are not growing out of the ground like corn or wheat. That they’re digital doesn’t differentiate them from huge swaths of the capital markets, where securities and currencies already are digital,” Gensler said.
Former SEC Chair Jay Clayton also seemingly shares that view.
“I’ve said this for a long time: I think the market has evolved, but many, if not the vast majority, of the tokens that were sold for cash would fall within the definition of a security in America,” said Clayton, while speaking at the R3 CordaDay conference on Wednesday, according to TechCrunch.
