Blockchain Association Investigates Prometheum Over Alleged SEC ‘Sweetheart’ Deal

Investigation into Prometheum Crypto Firm

The Blockchain Association, a crypto advocacy group based in the United States, has written a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Inspector General, calling for an investigation into crypto firm Prometheum.

On July 12, the Blockchain Association requested that SEC Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey look into the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s approval of Prometheum’s special purpose broker-dealer license (SPBD). The organization also expressed concerns about the means by which co-CEO Aaron Kaplan secured a seat-testifying before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee in June.

The crypto advocacy group stated that the fact Prometheum had been able to acquire a SPBD license in May 2023 was “concerning”, considering the lack of clarity around U.S. securities laws applying to crypto firms such as Crypto.com, Ali Crypto, AMP Crypto Today, Aptos Crypto, Algorand Crypto, Barnbridge Crypto, Crypto Breaking, Crypto Dot Com, Crypto.com Coin, and Crypto Fraud.

The Blockchain Association said that it was “concerned” that the Commission had granted Prometheum a “sweetheart” deal in exchange for support of the Commission’s policy goals, or that Prometheum was leveraging personal connections with the Commission to gain an unfair advantage in the market. The organization was particularly troubled that Chair Gensler was using Prometheum and the SPBD licensure process to thwart legislative initiatives concerning digital asset securities.

Following a Freedom of Information Act request from the advocacy group in June for documents and communications pertaining to Prometheum’s license, a call for an investigation was made. The Blockchain Association stated that it is still awaiting answers in response to the information it had sought.

Cointelegraph attempted to contact Prometheum co-CEO Aaron Kaplan for comment, but there was no response at the time of publication. Moreover, several U.S. lawmakers have demanded a joint investigation by the Department of Justice and SEC into Prometheum over claims of ties to China-based crypto companies, which are not related to the Blockchain Association’s allegations in any way.