Litecoin Surges by Nearly 20% After US Regulator Refers to LTC as a Commodity in KuCoin Complaint
Litecoin (LTC) surged by nearly 20% over the past three days after the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) referred to the asset as a commodity in a legal complaint.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the CFTC unsealed an indictment against the crypto exchange KuCoin and two of its founders, Chun Gan and Ke Tang.
The DOJ alleges the exchange operated an unlicensed money-transmitting business, failed to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program and received over $5 billion worth of suspicious and criminal proceeds.
The CFTC also charged KuCoin with illegally dealing in off-exchange commodity futures transactions, among other alleged violations.
In its complaint, the regulator asserts that certain digital assets are commodities.
“Billing itself as the ‘People’s Exchange,’ KuCoin is a centralized digital asset exchange headquartered in the Republic of Seychelles, the Cayman Islands, and Singapore, with 27 million customers across 200 countries, including the United States, and a cumulative trading volume of $3.6 trillion in 2022.
During the Relevant Period, KuCoin solicited and accepted orders, accepted property to margin, and operated a facility for the trading of futures, swaps, and leveraged, margined, or financed retail transactions involving digital assets that are commodities including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC).”
The CFTC also referred to those same three crypto assets as commodities in a complaint against Binance last year.
This assertion directly cuts against comments made by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, who in 2023 claimed that every coin besides Bitcoin is a security. Earlier this year, Gensler declined to answer when asked whether ETH counted as a security or a commodity.
LTC is trading at $105.75 at time of writing, up about 20% from $88.40 on Tuesday.
Don’t Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox
Check Price Action
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Telegram
Surf The Daily Hodl Mix
 
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any loses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.
Generated Image: Midjourney
Credit: Source link
Comments are closed.