Robinhood said that the SEC’s enforcement staff had sent the firm a Wells notice, indicating that it made an initial determination to recommend enforcement action. The SEC under under Chair Gary Gensler has argued that most tokens are subject to SEC rules and that platforms where they trade should be registered with the agency, and has brought cases against other high-profile crypto brokerages and trading platforms, including Coinbase.
Robinhood’s chief legal officer, Dan Gallagher, said in a statement that the firm was disappointed by the move and that company officials “firmly believe that the assets listed on our platform are not securities.” The SEC declined to comment.