SEC reportedly launches investigation into insider trading on exchanges

cointelegraph.com:

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly launched a probe to discover how crypto exchanges are working to prevent insider trading.

FOX Business reported on June 15 that a person with direct knowledge of the SEC’s activities said that the commission had sent a letter to a major crypto exchange requesting information about how the platform protects users from insider trading. The source believes the same letter has been sent to multiple exchanges.

It is not clear which exchange or exchanges have received the request, but the news outlet said Coinbase, Binance, FTX, and Crypto.com all declined to comment. The SEC also declined to confirm the probe.

The nature of the inquiry is also unclear. The SEC could be seeking out leads to litigate against an exchange’s potential legal violations via the enforcement division, or it could be a routine compliance check through the Office of Compliance Inspection and Examinations.

Allegations of insider trading at the largest nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea have caught the attention of the SEC in recent weeks. Cointelegraph reported on June 3 that the commission could ultimately label NFTs as securities after charges of insider trading to OpenSea’s former product manager Nathanial Chastain surfaced.

Partner at the Hogan & Hogan law firm Jeremy Hogan told FOX Business that the SEC’s current interest in exchanges may stem from the allegations of insider trading on tokens that were scheduled for listing and were likely to see a price gain. Hogan said “it's that sort of trading that the SEC might be forewarning the exchange they need to get control of."

The proposed Digital Commodity Exchange Act of 2022 would see the SEC have its presumed jurisdiction over crypto