U.S. SEC: Has reached a $24 million settlement agreement with Bittrex and its former CEO William Shihara

ChainCatcher News, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex Inc. and its co-founder and former CEO William Shihara have agreed to settle charges of operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. Bittrex Inc.'s foreign subsidiary Bittrex Global GmbH also agreed to settle charges of failing to register as a national securities exchange. As part of the settlement agreement, the defendants neither admit nor deny the SEC's charges. Additionally, Bittrex and Bittrex Global agreed to jointly pay $14.4 million in illicit gains, $4 million in pre-judgment interest, and $5.6 million in civil penalties, for a total of $24 million.

Previous report, the SEC stated in a complaint filed on April 17, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, that Bittrex acted as an unregistered broker, exchange, and clearing agency, providing cryptocurrency-related services to U.S. investors.