Robinhood delists Solana, Cardano, and Polygon amid SEC’s crackdown
Commission-free brokerage Robinhood Markets announced on Friday that it would be delisting three crypto tokens from its platform. The decision comes shortly after the U.S. regulators intensified its regulatory actions against major cryptocurrency exchanges.
As per the announcement, effective June 27, customers will no longer be able to trade Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), or Polygon (MATIC) using the Robinhood platform. After the deadline, any remaining holdings of these tokens will be automatically sold at market value and the proceeds will then be credited to the “Robinhood buying power,” which customers can use for other investments or transactions.
The broker confirms that no other coins will be affected, and assured customers that their existing crypto holdings will remain safe.
“You can continue to buy, sell and hold ADA, MATIC, and SOL until the deadline. You will be able to transfer ADA, MATIC, and SOL until June 27th, 2023. (If you live in Hawaii or Nevada, you can’t buy ADA, MATIC, and SOL. If you live in New York, you can’t transfer ADA, MATIC, and SOL.),” Robinhood wrote in a blog post.
The move indicates that Robinhood is taking the SEC’s actions seriously and is considering potential changes to comply with regulatory requirements in the digital asset space. The watchdog filed lawsuits against both Binance.US, the American subsidiary of the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, and Coinbase, the largest exchange in the United States. The SEC alleges that several tokens listed on these exchanges are unregistered securities, which violates securities laws.
Dan Gallagher, the legal chief of Robinhood, told Congress earlier this week that the popular app is currently reassessing its cryptocurrency offerings in response to the recent crackdown by the regulators. Gallagher, a former SEC commissioner, testified before the House Agriculture Committee and stated that Robinhood is actively reviewing the SEC’s analysis to determine the appropriate course of action.
Robinhood provides its users with access to a relatively limited selection of cryptocurrency assets, offering 18 different tokens compared to the larger range available on crypto-native giants like Coinbase. However, the zero-fee app said it wants to expand its crypto offering as customers have consistently requested a more extensive set of coins and tokens as well as the ability to send and receive cryptocurrencies. While many are near worthless, the cryptocurrencies listed by Robinhood tend to be among the better known and more valuable assets.
Earlier, Robinhood rolled out crypto wallets to the approximately two million customers on its waitlist and then completed the full roll-out to all customers. Those early birds are now able to hold and take custody of their own cryptocurrencies and NFTs in a separate, stand-alone app.
Robinhood also expanded its retail-focused cryptocurrency offerings through the addition of USDC stablecoin. The company’s users are able to send and receive the second-largest stablecoin by market cap on both Polygon and Ethereum networks.
