- Prometheum has executed its first crypto trades nearly a decade after its founding and raising nearly $100 million.
- The launch follows the firm’s controversial 2023 testimony that aligned with the SEC’s aggressive enforcement stance under former Chair Gary Gensler.
- The company’s business model treats digital assets like Ethereum as securities, aiming to integrate them into traditional brokerage accounts.
- Its debut arrives as the regulatory climate has shifted dramatically, with many SEC crypto lawsuits dropped following Gensler’s departure.
- The firm now faces a competitive landscape where its hard-won special license may no longer be exclusively necessary for custody.
After nearly a decade of development, Prometheum has officially executed its first cryptocurrency trades, launching a digital brokerage service last week according to an announcement. Founder and co-CEO Aaron Kaplan told Decrypt the firm began providing access to Ethereum trading and expects to add more digital assets soon.
Kaplan argues the platform capitalizes on the broader tokenization of U.S. markets, allowing broker-dealers to offer crypto directly. “This is bringing in hundreds of millions of accounts that now all of a sudden could invest in crypto,” he said.
However, the company’s milestone arrived with little fanfare from a skeptical industry. This indifference stems from Kaplan’s 2023 congressional testimony, which validated the aggressive tactics of then-SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
Consequently, while giants like Coinbase fought the regulator in court, Prometheum built a model treating digital assets as securities. Onlookers at the time mocked the firm’s slow progress with comparisons to a “bicycle with no wheels.”
Meanwhile, the regulatory landscape has transformed since Gensler’s departure. The SEC’s lawsuit against Coinbase was dropped and dismissed, along with most other crypto enforcement actions.
Furthermore, the exclusive regulatory moat Prometheum spent years building may no longer be necessary. Revised SEC guidance indicates traditional broker-dealers can now custody digital asset securities without its specialized license, according to an analysis by Winston & Strawn LLP.
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