Maine Joins $3 Million Settlements with Crypto Platform TradeStation

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The Maine Office of Securities yesterday announced the settlement of the consent order against TradeStation Crypto,Inc. (“TradeStation”) relating to the company’s unregistered crypto interest-earning program.  The consent order finds that TradeStation violated Maine law by offering and selling securities without proper registration or disclosue to investors.

As part of coordinated settlements with state and federal regulators, TradeStatiom has agreed to pay up to $3 million in fines and penalities and to cease and desist offering its crypto interest-earning programs or any security that does not comply with applicable laws.  TradeStation has repaid affected investors in full including interest.

As a result of the Maine consent order, TradeStation has paid $29,411.76 into the state’s securities restitution assistance fund.

“The consent order…sends a clear message that crypto-related businesses must follow the law like everyone else,” said Securities Administrator Jesse Devine.  “The Maine Office of Securities is committed to protecing investors and the integrity of financial markets.”

TradeStation a Florida corporation founded in 2018, provides crypto-asset-related financial services to retail and institutional customers in the US, including investing and trading services.  From August 1, 2020 to June 2022, TradeStation offered and promoted a crypto interest-earning program to Maine investors and throughout the US  via its website and other platforms.  Investors pasively earned interest on crypto assets by loaning them to TradeStation, which maintained total discretion over the revenue-venerating activities from which it paid returns to investors.

TradeStation’s failure to comply with registration requirements meant that investors were sold unregistered securities in violation of state law and additionally were deprived of critical information and dislosures necessary to understand the potential risks of TradeStation’s crypto interest-earning program.