Ohio joins $1.5M multistate securities settlement against crypto platform

On Wednesday, the Ohio Division of Securities entered into a settlement with TradeStation Crypto, Inc. (TradeStation) to resolve Ohio’s securities investigation into TradeStation’s crypto interest-earning program.

TradeStation, a Florida corporation formed in 2018, provides crypto-asset-related financial services to retail and institutional customers in the United States, including investing and trading services. 

From August 2020 to June 2022, TradeStation offered a crypto interest-earning program to Ohio investors. Under this program, investors passively earned interest on crypto assets by loaning them to TradeStation. TradeStation maintained total discretion over the revenue-generating activities utilized to earn returns for investors. The company offered and promoted their crypto interest-earning program in Ohio and the United States at large via its website and various platforms.

The $1.5 million multistate settlement, on behalf of 51 United States jurisdictions, is the result of a North American Securities Administrators Association task force of eight state securities regulators from Alabama, California, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin. The task force determined that during the offering period, TradeStation engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of securities via its crypto interest-earning program.

“Investors in Ohio and across the country have lost a lot of money in recent years investing in the crypto markets,” said Ohio Division of Securities Commissioner Andrea Seidt. “Registration is key to rooting out fraudsters and guiding the legitimate operators to a safer, more transparent market.”

The Ohio Division of Securities is represented in this matter by enforcement attorney Christopher Ballard.