The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged the crypto asset trading platform beaxy.com (the Beaxy Platform) and its executives for failing to register as a national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The SEC also charged the founder of the platform, Artak Hamazaspyan, and a company he controlled, Beaxy Digital, Ltd., with raising $8 million in an unregistered offering of the Beaxy token (BXY) and alleged that Hamazaspyan misappropriated at least $900,000 for personal use, including gambling. Finally, the SEC charged market makers operating on the Beaxy Platform as unregistered dealers. ... (full story)

A top U.S. financial regulator continues to hammer into the crypto industry. Why it matters: The top-line complaint leveled by the Securities and Exchange Commission against Beaxy alleges the platform failed to register as a national securities exchange, and also takes issue with how it operated. Driving the news: The SEC Wednesday charged Beaxy.com, its executives including founder and former chief Artak Hamazaspyan. The big picture: The SEC enforcement actions appear to be reaching fever pitch, with major exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken as well as smaller, but well-known crypto leaders like Tron's Justin Sun ... (full story)