Bitstamp to halt U.S. trading of seven tokens identified as securities by SEC in Coinbase, Binance cases

Bitstamp said on Aug. 8 that it would halt U.S. trading for several cryptocurrencies declared securities in recent cases against Binance and Coinbase.

Specifically, the company said it would soon block U.S. users from trading Axie Infinity (AXS), Chiliz (CHZ), Decentraland (MANA), Polygon (MATIC), Near Protocol (NEAR), The Sandbox (SAND), and Solana (SOL). According to the company’s latest announcement, those delistings leave Bitstamp with 30 listed cryptocurrencies.

Bitstamp urged U.S. customers to execute trades involving the above tokens by August 29. It said U.S. trading would be “permanently disabled” after that deadline but said that U.S. users could withdraw and hold the above tokens after that date.

The company decided to delist the affected tokens in light of “recent developments” and continuously examines the regulatory environment. Though Bitstamp did not explicitly identify those developments, all affected cryptocurrencies are assets that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) identified as securities in cases against Coinbase and Binance.

Incidentally, Bitstamp will refrain from delisting certain assets named in those cases — Cardano (ADA), Nexo (NEXO), and Algorand (ALGO) — for unclear reasons.

Other platforms have delisted similar tokens

Certain other cryptocurrency platforms have also delisted certain assets named in the above securities cases. Revolut, Bakkt, and Robinhood have all delisted Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), and Solana (SOL) in recent months.

The focus on those three cryptocurrencies appears to be because they are among the largest assets the SEC targets and are, therefore, broadly supported.

Each cryptocurrency project has rejected the SEC’s claims directly or indirectly. Cardano parent company IOHK has denied its security status, while the Solana Foundation has said it “disagrees” with the SEC’s statements. Polygon Labs has stated its activities were focused outside of the U.S., implicitly beyond the reach of the SEC.

So far, all actions taken around the affected tokens are precautionary. It remains to be seen whether the SEC will target the tokens or additional platforms in the future.

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