Uphold obtains FINRA approval to acquire US broker-dealer

Published at: March 31, 2021

Cryptocurrency wallet and trading platform Uphold has received regulatory approval to purchase JNK Securities, a U.S. broker-dealer.

In an announcement from Uphold today, the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, gave the firm the green light to acquire JNK Securities. Uphold said the acquisition is aimed at allowing the platform to launch fractional equities in the United States later this year in addition to providing an interface for users to trade between crypto, stocks, carbon credits, precious metals, and other assets.

“Bitcoin to Tesla stock in one seamless user experience will soon become a reality for our U.S. customers,” said Uphold CEO JP Thieriot. “The move will introduce unprecedented speed and convenience for retail investors seeking to trade between traditional and emerging asset classes.”

According to Uphold, this would make the platform one of the first crypto firms to own a broker-dealer approved to offer equities on an omnibus basis to retail investors in the U.S. Investors would be able to purchase fractions of a stock in much the same way crypto users do not have to buy an entire Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), or any number of tokens. The firm said it plans to increase its equities offering from 50 U.S. stocks to 3,500 stocks and options in 2021.

Tags
Related Posts
FINRA orders Robinhood to pay $70M due in part to 'significant harm' platform caused users
The U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is penalizing Robinhood to the tune of roughly $70 million based on the results of an investigation into the stock and cryptocurrency trading app. In a Wednesday announcement, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, said it had ordered Robinhood to pay $57 million in fines to the regulatory body as well as provide roughly $12.6 million in restitution to certain customers. FINRA alleged the trading platform caused “widespread and significant harm” to thousands of users and exhibited “systemic supervisory failures” starting as early as September 2016. “The fine imposed in this matter, the …
Regulation / June 30, 2021
Crypto is 'most mature' in these 2 countries, new Huobi report reveals
Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto are only used by 13.7% of Americans, but they generate more exchange volume than anyone else. The latest data compiled by exchange Huobi confirms that in 2022, the United States is the most “mature” crypto market. U.S., Vietnam lead the way on crypto Despite the heavy drawdowns in price for Bitcoin and altcoins this year, interest throughout the world remains “extremely active,” and the leaders may come as a surprise. In its latest annual report, Huobi Research, an affiliate of Huobi Global, revealed that the U.S. accounts for 9.2% of global centralized exchange (CEX) volume. When …
Bitcoin / Dec. 8, 2022
What the SEC can learn from the German regulator
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s chairperson Gary Gensler announced this month that the crypto industry should not escape the purview of the regulator. He highlighted that decentralized finance (DeFi) trading and lending protocols need particular attention when it comes to investor protections. Regulation can extend into a menu of options that covers custody, reporting, counterparty verification and asset classification and issuance. Reports are surfacing that people are waiting with bated breath on how the SEC will regulate the DeFi industry, but Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, also known as BaFin, has found a way to apply existing securities …
Technology / Aug. 12, 2021
US gov is Bitcoin’s last remaining adversary, says Messari founder
Ryan Selkis, co-founder of data and research company Messari, recently released his 2021 crypto sector thesis, examining the state of the industry as well as forecasting what lies ahead. Selkis explains in this report that the U.S. government is one remaining adversary he feels BTC must win over. “The ‘final boss’ to beat is the state,” Selkis wrote in his report, released on Tuesday. “For the U.S., bitcoin presents a tool to undermine international sanctions, and 80% of mining capacity now sits behind enemy lines in China, Russia, and Iran,” he noted. “Will a Biden administration like BTC? TBD.” Bitcoin …
Adoption / Dec. 8, 2020
Canada crypto regulation: Bitcoin ETFs, strict licensing and a digital dollar
In October, Toronto-based Coinsquare became the first crypto trading business to get dealer registration from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). That means a lot as now Coinsquare investors’ funds enjoy the security of the Canadian Investment Protection Fund in the event of insolvency, while the exchange is required to report its financial standing regularly. This news reminds us about the peculiarities of Canadian regulation of crypto. While the country still holds a rather tight process of licensing the virtual asset providers, it outpaces the neighboring United States in its experiments with crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), pension funds’ …
Etf / Nov. 26, 2022