CFTC files lawsuits against three DeFi projects

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) подала lawsuits against three DeFi companies — Opyn, ZeroEx and Deridex — for unlawful trading of derivatives and operating without a licence.

According to the agency, all firms are charged with “using blockchain-based and smart-contract-based protocols to operate as trading platforms.”

They were also accused of unlawfully offering retail commodity contracts and margin trading with borrowed funds in digital assets, the CFTC emphasised.

Opyn, ZeroEx and Deridex will pay fines of $250 000, $200 000 and $100 000 respectively. The companies agreed to these terms to settle the claims.

“Somewhere in the DeFi process, operators realised that illicit transactions become legitimate if they are facilitated by smart contracts,” said CFTC enforcement director Ian McGinley.

The regulator is closest to ZeroEx, based in California. In 2021 the agency hired former project lawyer Jason Somensatto to head the fintech research division.

But not everyone at the Commission agreed with the ruling.

“There is nothing in these cases indicating that customer funds were unlawfully appropriated or that any market participants were harmed by DeFi protocols. I am concerned that the Commission in these cases is taking another step along the path of coercive measures, whereas we should engage with the public,” said Commissioner Summer Mersinger.

As reported on March 27, 2023, the CFTC обвинила the Binance exchange of violating derivatives trading rules and operating without a licence. The agency also claimed that its clients included sanctioned individuals.

Earlier, the CFTC заявляли that Binance intentionally violated the rules. In response to the allegations, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao отметил that the Commission’s claims contain an “incomplete account of the facts.” In addition, he осудил “coercive crypto-regulation” by regulators.

In July Binance подала ходатайство об отклонении иска CFTC.