- Blockchain Association discloses its suspicion about the existence and chain of command of Prometheum.
- CEO of Prometheum, Aaron Kaplan, testified at Congress and supported crypto regulation.
- Kaplan claims the company did not receive any exemption relief from the SEC.
The approval of the US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) regulation of cryptocurrency by crypto firm Prometheum—a firm with little known about its existence—has sparked a controversy in the crypto community, with the Blockchain Association counsel filing for the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
On June 15, Blockchain Association counsel, Marissa Coppel, claimed that the crypto lobbying group filed the FOIA request to gain access to documents concerning Prometheum. The latter had expressed compliance with crypto regulation under securities laws and the SEC—a widely unacceptable motion by the crypto industry.
Aaron Kaplan, the CEO of Prometheum, was invited to the House, where he gave his testimony at the hearing that took place on June 13.
According to Aaron, crypto exchanges and custodians are mandated to be regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) based on the services they provide to the public.
“Those who argue for new laws are simply unwilling to comply with existing applicable securities laws and regulations,” he said.
Marissa Coppel took to social media to announce her skepticism about the Prometheum firm in a Twitter thread. She claimed that Prometheum got approval for a first-of-its-kind Special Purpose Broker-Dealer (SPBD) for crypto asset securities despite being amid an “aggressive SEC enforcement.”
She called the action suspicious and announced that the Blockchain Association group filed a request from the SEC for documents and communications about Prometheum and ATS.
“The CEO somehow gets a seat in front of Congress and argues that Prometheum represents the compliant path for digital assets,” Marissa said.
What is FOIA?
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) enables members of the public to inquire about information or demand documents from government agencies, as was done with Prometheum.
Relation Between Prometheum’s Current Staff and Ex-SEC and FINRA Members
Shortly after the Prometheum incident at Congress, the crypto community has been vocal about the firm. Upon in-depth investigation into the firm and its staff, much has been revealed about the company, possibly hinting at why Aaron Kaplan made such statements at the hearing.
Joseph Zangri, the chief compliance officer at Prometheum, was once an SEC enforcement attorney in the ’90s; the chief regulatory officer, Rosemarie Fanelli, also has a 14-year history working at FINRA before she joined Prometheum.
Although it is not strange for crypto companies to enjoy ex-members of the SEC and other governmental agencies, the crypto community is only trying to bridge the gap between Prometheum’s Aaron Kaplan statement and the relationship between the US SEC and the vaguely-known crypto firm.
Adam Cochran tweeted his observations to the crypto community, wondering how lawyers of Prometheum, a firm founded in 2017, could get approval from the SEC and FINRA. The solution to the question led to the connection between the firm’s staff and the SEC and FINRA.
Conclusion
Prometheum introduced itself at the congressional hearing as a crypto firm compliant with the US SEC laws and regulations, a matter which the majority of the crypto industry still finds stifling.
