eToro Halts Trading of Tokens Classified as Securities by SEC

Retail trading platform eToro has halted its Algorand, Decentraland, Polygon, and Dash markets for customers in the United States in response to tokens being classified as securities in recent SEC lawsuits.

The move comes just days after competitor Robinhood also ended support for MATIC along with Cardano and Solana, two other cryptocurrencies considered securities by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a Twitter thread on June 12, eToro US noted that it had reviewed its crypto listings “in light of the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape” and “recent developments” with the SEC.

Assets Removed from eToro as of July 12, But Users Can Still Own and Sell

The assets were officially deleted as of 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time on July 12, however eToro users in the US will be able to own and sell these assets.

eToro Advocates for Crypto Assets, Commits to Regulatory Cooperation

“We remain advocates of crypto assets and believe in the importance of offering our users access to a diversified range of asset classes, which includes equities, ETFs and options. We are committed to working closely with regulators around the world to shape the future of the crypto industry and champion access for ordinary investors,” the company said.

The company has essentially chosen to err on the side of caution since the SEC has now argued in lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase that important assets such as ADA, SOL, MATIC, MANA, ALGO and several others are securities.

Community members questioned why eToro US did not mention anything about SOL, which was also considered a security in the recent lawsuits. However, an eToro spokesperson clarified that SOL is not part of eToro US’s offerings.

This is not the first time eToro US has moved to cut off access to certain assets in response to the litigation-friendly SEC. In December 2020, the company also deleted Ripple following the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs.