As a seasoned analyst with over two decades of experience in the financial markets, I have witnessed numerous regulatory actions against entities operating outside the boundaries of established rules and regulations. The SEC’s lawsuit against Cumberland DRW for allegedly acting as an unregistered securities dealer in the crypto market is yet another example of the ongoing efforts to ensure compliance within this nascent but rapidly growing industry.


In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Cumberland DRW of functioning as an unlicensed securities dealer in the crypto market. The SEC claims that Cumberland was trading cryptocurrencies that were categorized as unregistered securities by buying and selling them.

As an analyst, I find myself in a position where I must acknowledge allegations made by the SEC, suggesting that my organization, Cumberland, employed our research reports and update emails to advocate investments in various cryptocurrencies. This list, though not exhaustive, included Polygon‘s {{POL}} (formerly MATIC), Solana’s (SOL), Cosmos’ (ATOM), Algorand’s (ALGO) and Filecoin’s (FIL). The SEC posits that these digital assets were marketed as securities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated in its lawsuit that the statements made by those responsible for the Cumberland-Traded Assets, as well as any repetitions by Cumberland and other crypto asset trading platforms it uses, could lead a reasonable investor to interpret each of these assets as an investment contract. According to federal securities laws, an investment contract is considered a security.

These investors expected to profit, the SEC alleged.

However, Cumberland did not register as a securities dealer.

In a similar fashion to past legal actions, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) examined five cryptocurrencies and presented its case on why these digital assets resemble securities. This assessment was based on public declarations from the projects’ creators, white papers, as well as statements made by Cumberland regarding each asset.

The SEC claimed that Cumberland advertised ATOM by saying in an email to partners on February 20, 2023, “Currently, one of the lesser-known gainers in the sector, other than ETH and EOS, is ATOM. ATOM has increased by 53% so far this year, but it has strong fundamentals and a vibrant developer community; we believe it will experience a surge if the crypto market remains active.

The SEC is seeking a permanent injunction and disgorgement of proceeds, the suit said.

As a crypto investor, I want to clarify that despite the legal action taken by the SEC, my firm, Cumberland, is maintaining its business operations and the assets used for liquidity provision remain unchanged. This is based on a recent post made on X.

The statement expressed assurance in our robust system of adhering to regulations, which we strictly follow despite their ever-changing nature – as an example, the recent debate over whether Ethereum is considered a security.

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2024-10-10 20:28