Cryptocurrency lending platforms are in the crosshairs of regulators. Just days after the Securities and Exchange Commission served a Wells notice on Coinbase for its planned crypto lending platform, the New Jersey Attorney General's office announced that the state's Bureau of Securities has issued a cease and desist order against Celsius Network LLC.
Celsius has been engaged in lending and proprietary trading activities in cryptocurrencies, which are unregistered securities and therefore violate New Jersey securities law, according to the AG's office, which oversees the Division of Consumer Affairs and its subdivision, the Bureau of Securities. The AG's office said Celsius has raised "at least $14 billion through those sales."
It was the second time in less than two months that the New Jersey agency has taken action against a cryptocurrency firm for selling unregistered securities. In July the bureau issued a cease and desist order to stop BlockFi, a bank-like crypto platform, from selling unregistered securities in the form of interest-earning cryptocurrency accounts.
