SEC files lawsuit against Bittrex for violating federal securities laws.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex and its former CEO with operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The SEC alleged that Bittrex earned at least $1.3 billion in revenues from transaction fees from investors while servicing them as a broker, exchange, and clearing agency but failed to register those activities with the SEC. Bittrex has denied the allegations and plans to "vigorously defend" itself in court. The cryptocurrency industry has been lobbying Washington lawmakers and policymakers to avoid falling within the SEC's jurisdiction, but with the collapse of FTX, crypto has faced unprecedented scrutiny.