SEC sues Beaxy, founder, market makers in crypto clampdown

Continuing its pressure on crypto asset trading platforms, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued beaxy.com on Wednesday for failing to register as a national securities exchange, broker, and clearing house. The SEC also charged Artak Hamazaspyan, the platform's founder, and a company he controlled, Beaxy Digital, with raising $8M in an unregistered offering of the Beaxy token. The regulator also alleged that Hamazaspyan misappropriated at least $900K for personal use, including gambling. In addition, it charged market makers operating on the Beaxy Platform as unregistered dealers. "This case serves as yet another reminder to crypto intermediaries that their business models must comply and adapt to the law, not the other way around," SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. The SEC also alleges that Nicholas Murphy and Randolph Bay Abbott, through the company they managed, Windy Inc., maintained and provided Beaxy Platform as a web-based trading platform that facilitated buying and selling of crypto assets that were offered and sold as securities. More on Crypto Clampdown: Bit Digital: Operational Shift Taking Shape? Crypto exchange Binance suffers $2B in outflows as woes pile up Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao sued by CFTC over regulatory breaches G-7 said to promote tougher crypto rules amid global banking drama Coinbase downgraded after Wells notice