Blockchain Assoc. seeks details on Prometheum’s ‘suspicious’ approval.
The Blockchain Association, a crypto lobby group in the United States, has submitted a request to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to obtain information about Prometheum, a previously little-known crypto company. Prometheum gained attention this week after its CEO, Aaron Kaplan, testified at a House hearing in support of regulating crypto under securities laws and the SEC, a position that differs from other industry advocates. On June 15, the Blockchain Association filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the SEC for documents and communications related to Prometheum. The group’s counsel, Marissa Coppel, expressed suspicion over how Prometheum was approved as a special purpose broker-dealer (SPBD) for digital assets amidst “aggressive SEC enforcement.” Coppel also questioned how Kaplan was able to testify at a congressional hearing on industry regulations. FOIA requests are submitted by the public to U.S. federal agencies to request records on any topic. At the June 13 House hearing, Kaplan stated that his firm did not receive any additional exemptive relief from the SEC. Meanwhile, some have raised suspicions about the background of the Prometheum team, noting that some members are former SEC and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) staffers. It is not uncommon for crypto companies to hire former regulatory employees.