Prometheus Inc. has taken an important step forward by receiving testing approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to operate under its supervision. This information is described in FINRA’s license expansion document.
“@PrometheumInc was already the first and only special-purpose crypto broker-dealer licensed under SEC rules. It’s now obtained approval to clear and settle digital assets securities trades.” -@CoinDesk @jesseahamilton
Looking forward to an exciting 2024.https://t.co/GQEUBgwuEX
— Prometheum (@PrometheumInc) December 21, 2023
Accordingly, Prometheum is currently the only cryptocurrency brokerage company licensed under SEC regulations. Receiving approval to settle digital asset transactions is an important step for the platform, especially as the SEC maintains many strict regulations.
Although it has not yet made its first transaction, Prometheum expects to take custody of institutional clients’ assets within the next four months.
At the same time, the company is looking at its platform as a potential opportunity to tokenize traditional securities. CEO Kaplan said the announcement of the listed tokens will be published next year and asserted that they have established a standard communication framework with regulators.
Doubts about the Prometheum trading platform
Prometheum is a not-so-famous cryptocurrency exchange, but suddenly became famous in the cryptocurrency community after a hearing in the US House of Representatives in mid-July.
During that hearing, founder Aaron Kaplan stated that Prometheum is a fully licensed cryptocurrency trading platform and fully supports the recent “coercive” measures by the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. and United States Exchange (SEC) Gary Gensler for the entire cryptocurrency industry.
According to analyst Adam Cochran, Prometheum was founded in 2017 and has successfully raised $50 million. However, since then, this company has not released any products and has only submitted an application to issue tokens. Notably, the company’s staff are all former employees from the SEC and FINRA.
The exchange’s suspicious records and pro-SEC actions have made the crypto community suspicious of Prometheum’s identity and role. Many people believe that this may be a cryptocurrency exchange that “belongs” to the SEC.
Related: Former SEC Official Reveals Insights on Spot Bitcoin ETF
Previously, the Blockchain Association filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the SEC seeking records related to Prometheum.
In addition, some US lawmakers have also asked the Department of Justice and SEC to conduct an investigation into Prometheum over suspicions of links with companies based in China.
