United States of America: Announced Securities and Exchange Commission public lawsuit against Beaxy over alleged failure to register as a securities exchange

On 29 March 2023, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a public lawsuit against the crypto asset trading platform Beaxy over its alleged failure to register as a securities exchange, clearing agency or broker. In addition, the SEC charged Artak Hamazaspyan, the Platform's founder, alleging that he had misappropriated over USD 900'000 for personal use, including gambling, and raised USD 8 million in an unregistered offering of the Beaxy token (BXY). In its public lawsuit, the SEC claims that Beaxy 's offering materials specified that BXY is an "exchange token", making it subject to securities registration requirements and misled investors that the proceeds obtained through the offering would be used to develop and operate the crypto asset trading platform "Beaxy Platform". The SEC asked the court for an injunction that would prohibit Beaxy and Hamazaspyan from engaging directly and indirectly in securities offerings.