(Reuters) -Bittrex has agreed to pay $24 million to settle claims by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the cryptocurrency exchange failed to register with the agency, according to a filing in Seattle federal court on Thursday.
The SEC sued Bittrex Inc and its former CEO William Shihara in April, saying they operated an unregistered national securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.
The SEC also claimed Bittrex Global GmbH failed to register as a national securities exchange in connection with its operation of a single shared order book along with Bittrex.
The companies and Shihara agreed to an order barring them from violating U.S. securities laws. They did not admit to the SEC’s allegations.
Spokespeople for the SEC and Bittrex did not respond immediately to requests for comment.