Robinhood subpoenaed by SEC over crypto listings and custody

Robinhood Markets has confirmed that it had received an investigative subpoena from the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) over its digital asset business’ crypto listings, custody and platform operations.

In a 10-K filing, the brokerage said it received the investigative subpoena in December shortly after crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy in November, and after “several other major cryptocurrency trading venues and lending platforms earlier in 2022,” including Three Arrows Capital, Voyager Digital Holdings and Celsius Network.

The investigative subpoena was in relation to its cryptocurrency listings and custody services, which they said came in response to the crypto bankruptcies last year:

“In December 2022, following the 2022 Crypto Bankruptcies, we received an investigative subpoena from the SEC regarding, among other topics, RHC’s supported cryptocurrencies, custody of cryptocurrencies, and platform operations.”

Robinhood said it had also received subpoenas from the California Attorney General’s Office seeking information about its crypto arm’s trading platform, business and operations, custody of customer assets and coin listings. 

The brokerage has also been subjected to regulatory examination by the New York District of Financial Services (NYDFS) and Massachusetts Securities Division (MSD) in the past.

Investigative subpoenas are issued by a court at the request of another person or entity for the purposes of obtaining the information necessary to decide whether to pursue legal action against the subpoenaed person or entity.

Cointelegraph reached out to Robinhood but the firm declined to comment on the matter.

This is a developing story and more information will be added as it becomes available.