News
The SEC is taking a ‘hostile’ approach to cryptocurrencies: Robinhood CEO
Robinhood Markets (HOOD) recently received a Wells Notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about an alleged securities dealer and transfer agent registration violation. The trading platform revealed that it has received investigative subpoenas regarding cryptocurrency listings and custody.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev joins Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi to discuss the SEC’s concerns with Robinhood’s cryptocurrency arm and the state of regulation regarding digital currencies.
Tenev outlines the history with the SEC so far: “We have attempted to work with the SEC in good faith to register a special purpose broker-dealer to trade crypto assets. Obviously that process has not been reciprocated and that is unfortunate. We believe we have the most compliant and safest crypto platform available to customers. We are, as you probably know, extremely selective about the coins we offer on the platform. They go through a rigorous vetting process, so it appears that the SEC is taking a hostile attitude towards it of the cryptocurrency industry in general in the United States.”
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This post was written by Nicola Giacobino
Video transcription
On the trading front. Um, maybe you could detail a little bit more on this well known that Robin Hood has received uh or on the cryptocurrency front any updates there and, and how do you plan on defending the company? Well, uh we shared some statements about that. I made a statement about X a couple of days ago. Um, we have tried to work with the SEC in good faith to register a specialized intermediary for the exchange of crypto assets. Uh Obviously, that process was not reciprocated. And this is a shame. We believe we have the most compliant and most secure crypto platform available because customers are, as you probably know, extremely selective about the coins we offer on the platform. They go through a rigorous verification process. So, it appears that uh uh the sec is taking a hostile attitude towards the cryptocurrency industry in general in the United States. And I think with us we are eager to defend the company, the industry and our customers. And I really believe that in the long term cryptocurrencies will become an important asset class for us as consumers, have you seen external jurisdictions, you know, in the European Union , for example, taking a much more proactive path where there is always more regulatory clarity. So, yes, we want to make sure America isn’t left behind. We should be at the forefront of innovation in all new technologies, and I think it’s our duty to lead that and make sure that conditions in the United States remain conducive to technology and innovation. Do you ever think regulators will get passionate about cryptocurrencies? I think they will, I think you’re starting to see it. I mean, it’s, it’s been a little slower than we would like. But five years ago, Bitcoin was in an uncertain environment. Now you see regulators going beyond Bitcoin and starting to investigate other things and try to understand them. I believe that over the long term the US will get there and it’s simply a matter of accelerating the process, but people want it, it’s an asset class that, especially in a high inflation environment, is attractive. You’ve seen it being adopted and a lot of practical use cases are emerging. So I think crypto technology and the assets themselves will continue to be an important part of the economy. Lastly, that Vlad and Robin are sitting on a ton of cash, $4.7 billion, every thought uh I imagine a potential dividend or you’ll buy back stock with that. Well, in the past, we’ve repurchased shares, we repurchased about 7% of the outstanding stock in the third quarter of last year from emerging fidelity technologies. We’ve also liked having the flexibility for opportunistic mergers and acquisitions and have been very selective about the companies we look at and end up moving forward with. But um yeah, it’s a huge strength for the company to have a strong balance sheet in, uh, all environments. Uh Fascinating quarter from you guys. We leave it here. Robin Hood, co-founder and CEO of Vlad 10 of, uh, thank you for always taking time for yourself. Finance. We appreciate it. It is always a pleasure. Thanks, Brian.