It is no secret that the US financial market watchdog, the very powerful SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), pays close attention to cryptos. This makes it difficult for whales in the crypto-sphere to pass under its radar. It’s Yuga Labs’ turn to be investigated by the SEC. All it took was an announcement of this investigation for the price of Apecoin (APE) to fall by 10%.
Yuga Labs in the crosshairs of the SEC
According to Bloomberg, which reported the information from an unnamed source, the SEC is investigating whether the creator of Bored Ape acted in violation of US federal law.
Indeed, the SEC would investigate the sale of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT. It would be for the SEC to determine if the NFTs of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) are assimilated to shares. In such a case, the NFTs would fall under the applicable law on the transfer of securities. A situation that could prove unfortunate for Yuga Labs and for the crypto market.
The recent distribution of ApeCoin (APE) made last March is also under investigation by the SEC. However, remember that the APE token was not created by Yuga Labs, but rather by the Ape Foundation, whose governance is ensured by a decentralized autonomous organization, ApeCoin DAO.
Apecoin (APE) navigates in troubled waters
It must be said that no official accusation has been made by the SEC. However, this did not prevent the price of Apecoin (APE) from being impacted by this announcement. Thus, the price of the token experienced a dizzying fall in the hours following the announcement:
Some ApeCoin (APE) holders have clearly lost their faith in this token. Nevertheless, Yuga Labs has already taken the lead. Indeed, the start-up spoke in an official statement to Bloomberg:
“It is well known that policy makers and regulators have sought to learn more about the new world of Web3. We hope to partner with the rest of the industry and regulators to define and shape the burgeoning ecosystem.”
Yuga Labs thus opted for the collaboration and made it known:
“As a leader in this space, Yuga is committed to fully cooperating with any inquiries.”
At this time, Yuga Labs is not yet officially guilty of any wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the possibility of prosecution weighs like a sword of Damocles on the American start-up. This is one more case to write down in the history of the turbulent relationship that the SEC has had with the crypto market. We definitely can’t help but see similarities with Ripple (XRP), which is in the middle of a legal battle against the SEC for similar facts.
Receive a digest of news in the world of cryptocurrencies by subscribing to our new service of daily and weekly so you don’t miss any of the essential Tremplin.io!
