eToro Blocks US Customers’ Purchase of ALGO, MANA, DASH, and MATIC

Tuesday, 13/06/2023 | 09:38 GMT by Jared Kirui

The step is in response to the SEC's lawsuits against major exchanges.

The SEC has labeled the delisted cryptocurrencies as unregistered securities.

Retail investors confident about portfolio despite 2022 bear market. — eToro's logo

The stocks and crypto assets trading platform, eToro has halted the purchase of four cryptocurrencies, which were recently labeled as unregistered securities by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for users in the US, according to an announcement made yesterday (Monday).

eToro US said the delisting of the tokens, Algorand (ALGO), Decentraland (MANA), Dash (DASH), and Polygon (MATIC), is due to an 'evolving regulatory landscape'. The trading platform has, however, allowed users to continue to hold and sell their cryptocurrencies.

"eToro has a framework in place that reviews the crypto assets we offer in light of the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. Due to recent developments, we will be making some changes to our crypto offering for US customers," the company said.

Facing Regulatory Pressure

Although eToro did not specify the developments that led to the decision, the delisted tokens were recently mentioned in the lawsuits by the SEC against Binance and Coinbase. In the charges, the regulator referred to the tokens as securities that must be registered.

Additionally, other cryptocurrencies identified as securities, include FIL, SAND, AXS, CHZ, FLOW, ICP, NEAR, VGX, DASH, and NEXO.

"From 6:00 AM ET on Wednesday, July 12th, 2023, US customers will no longer be able to open new positions in Algorand (ALGO), Decentraland (MANA), Dash (DASH), and Polygon (MATIC)," eToro said in a tweet. "Customers can continue to hold and sell existing positions in these coins."

However, eToro said it remains a supporter of crypto assets and believes in the importance of giving its users access to a broad range of asset classes. Furthermore, the brokerage expressed commitment to working with the regulators.

Robinhood Delists Major Cryptocurrencies

Last Friday, Robinhood, another crypto trading platform known for its commission-free trades, took similar steps, delisting Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Polygon (MATIC), following their mention as securities by the SEC.

While eToro and Robinhood have delisted some of the cryptocurrencies listed on their platform to comply with the SEC, Coinbase has vowed to continue with business as usual, blaming the agency for embracing an 'enforcement-only approach'. The exchange filed a lawsuit against the commission in April.