Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX US under investigation by Texas securities regulator


  • FTX US and CEO Samuel Bankman-Fried hit by Texas State Securities Board investigation. 
  • The board is looking into crypto yield farming accounts offered by FTX US. 
  • FTT, the native token for FTX exchange, continued its decline, down 57.8% over the past year. 

The Texas State Securities Board believes the crypto yield program of FTX is an investment contract and should be regulated as a security. FTT price nosedived in response to news of investigation against the FTX CEO and the exchange. 

Also read: DeFi token holders alert: Ribbon Finance’s lend product poses risks, argues analyst

Is FTX US offering unregistered securities, Texas regulator weighs in

Texas State Securities Board alleges that FTX US exchange’s yield program is the offering of unregistered securities in the form of yield-bearing accounts to the residents of the US. Joseph Jason Rotunda, Director of Enforcement at the Texas State Securities Board believes FTX’s yield program needs to be regulated as a security. 

The Howey test is used to determine what qualifies as an "investment contract" and would therefore be subject to U.S. securities laws. Applying the Howey test, investments are labeled as securities if there is an expectation of profits from the management. 

State securities regulators have been pursuing companies that offer crypto yield farming products, like the ones offered by the FTX exchange and Voyager. In the sale of unregistered securities, sellers typically don’t disclose associated risks to investors. In such cases, products turn out to be fraudulent and this is a leading cause of concern.

Rotunda believes Securities regulators should not have allowed FTX to purchase Voyager’s assets until they could have determined their compliance with the law. It remains unclear whether FTX-US or Bankman-Fried have violated any securities laws and the investigation is ongoing, No formal charges have been filed against the giant yet. 

FTX exchange’s native token FTT witnessed a decline in its price. FTT price has plummeted 4% in the past 30 days. At press time, FTT token is trading at $23.66 and it yielded 4.5% losses over the past fourteen days. There was panic selling in response to the news of investigation in FTX exchange and Samuel Bankman-Fried. 


Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers. The author will not be held responsible for information that is found at the end of links posted on this page.

If not otherwise explicitly mentioned in the body of the article, at the time of writing, the author has no position in any stock mentioned in this article and no business relationship with any company mentioned. The author has not received compensation for writing this article, other than from FXStreet.

FXStreet and the author do not provide personalized recommendations. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of this information. FXStreet and the author will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses, injuries or damages arising from this information and its display or use. Errors and omissions excepted.

The author and FXStreet are not registered investment advisors and nothing in this article is intended to be investment advice.

Join Telegram

Recommended content


Recommended Content

Editors’ Picks

Ripple wipes out weekly gains, experts comment on role of Ripple stablecoin

Ripple wipes out weekly gains, experts comment on role of Ripple stablecoin

Ripple declined to $0.52 on Thursday, erasing all gains registered earlier this week. Ripple SVP Eric van Miltenburg’s comments on the firm’s stablecoin, and how it is expected to benefit the XRP Ledger and native token XRP have raised concerns among crypto experts. 

More Ripple News

Hedera HBAR slips nearly 10% after air is cleared on mistaken link with giant BlackRock

Hedera HBAR slips nearly 10% after air is cleared on mistaken link with giant BlackRock

HBAR price is down nearly 10% on Thursday, partly erasing gains inspired by the misinterpreted link with BlackRock. Despite the recent correction, Hedera’s price is up 44% in the past seven days.

More Hedera News

The reason behind Bonk’s 105% rise and if you should buy now Premium

The reason behind Bonk’s 105% rise and if you should buy now

Bonk price has shot up 105% in the past five weeks. A retracement into $0.0000216 or the $0.0000152 to $0.0000186 imbalance would be a good buying opportunity. Patient investors can expect double-digit gains from BONK that could extend up to 70%.

More Cryptocurrencies News

Injective price weakness persists despite over 5.9 million INJ tokens burned

Injective price weakness persists despite over 5.9 million INJ tokens burned

Injective price is trading with a bearish bias, stuck in the lower section of the market range. The bearish outlook abounds despite the network's deflationary efforts to pump the price. Coupled with broader market gloom, INJ token’s doomed days may not be over yet.

More Injective News

Bitcoin: BTC post-halving rally could be partially priced in Premium

Bitcoin: BTC post-halving rally could be partially priced in

Bitcoin (BTC) price briefly slipped below the $60,000 level for the last three days, attracting buyers in this area as the fourth BTC halving is due in a few hours. Is the halving priced in for Bitcoin? Or will the pioneer crypto note more gains in the coming days? 

Read full analysis

BTC

ETH

XRP