• News

Robinhood (HOOD) has received an SEC Wells Notice regarding crypto business

The Wells Notice is a harbinger of potential legal action about to be taken against the trading app.

Ozzie Mejia

May 6, 2024 11:40 AM

Robinhood

1

Financial service provider Robinhood could be in trouble very soon over its work in the crypto sphere. The company filed a notice on Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission may be on the verge of pursuing legal action against it, based on the reception of a Wells Notice.

"After years of good faith attempts to work with the SEC for regulatory clarity including our well-known attempt to ‘come in and register,’ we are disappointed that the agency has decided to issue a Wells Notice related to our U.S. crypto business," Robinhood chief legal, compliance and corporate affairs officer Dan Gallagher said on the Robinhood website (via CNBC). "We firmly believe that the assets listed on our platform are not securities and we look forward to engaging with the SEC to make clear just how weak any case against Robinhood Crypto would be on both the facts and the law.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a Wells Notice is a formal notification from the SEC to a company, informing it that a full investigation has concluded and enforcement actions may be forthcoming. Whether enforcement actions are taken will depend on an SEC Enforcement Division review and recommendation. These actions are tied to Robinhood's cryptocurrency listings, custody, and platform operations with the SEC suggesting that Robinhood violated Sections 15(a) and 17A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Penalties would vary and include cease-and-desist orders, financial penalties, and more.

This is not the first time Robinhood (Nasdaq: HOOD) has been in legal hot water with the SEC. It is, however, interesting timing for the company, which is set to report on its Q1 2024 earnings this Wednesday, May 8. Robinhood's troubles with the SEC will be worth keeping an eye on, so keep it on Shacknews for any updates.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?