Blockchain Association calls for investigation into Prometheum over alleged 'sweetheart' SEC deal

cointelegraph.com:

The United States-based crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association has submitted a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Inspector General calling for an investigation into crypto firm Prometheum.

In a July 12 letter, the Blockchain Association requested SEC inspector general Deborah Jeffrey look into the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s approval of Prometheum’s special purpose broker-dealer license (SPBD). The group also raised concerns about the means by which co-CEO Aaron Kaplan secured a seat testifying before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee in June.

The advocacy group said the fact Prometheum had been able to obtain a SPBD license in May 2023 was “concerning” given the uncertainty around U.S. securities laws applying to crypto firms. According to the Blockchain Association, Prometheum changed its public position of calling for regulatory clarity from the SEC in April 2021 to claiming “there exists a clear pathway to registration for digital assets and legislation is unnecessary”.

“We are concerned that the Commission granted Prometheum a ‘sweetheart’ deal in exchange for support of the Commission’s policy goals, or that Prometheum is leveraging personal connections with the Commission to gain an unfair advantage in the market,” said the association. “Most significantly, we are concerned that Chair Gensler is using Prometheum and the SPBD licensure process as a means to thwart congressional efforts toward legislation by continuing to spread the false narrative that the law is already clear with regard to digital asset securities.”

1/ Today, @blockchainassn submitted a letter to the SEC Office of Inspector General requesting the OIG open an investigation into potential