The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is reportedly investigating Jump Crypto, a crypto trading and Web3 infrastructure development firm of Jump Trading Group. The CFTC is also examining the Chicago-based firm’s investing activities.
CFTC and SEC Actions Against Crypto Companies
In the past two years, both the CFTC and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have initiated investigations and filed charges against several crypto exchanges, platforms, and individuals. The CFTC has sued FTX and its former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Binance and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao, and KuCoin.
Meanwhile, the SEC has placed top exchanges and individuals under significant regulatory scrutiny. This includes Binance, Terraform Labs and its former CEO Do Kwon, Coinbase, Kraken, and Bittrex. The SEC also charged Ripple and its top executives and recently concluded its investigation into Ethereum 2.0.
In its case against Terraform Labs, the SEC identified a “U.S. trading firm” that allegedly helped to prop up the depegging stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) in 2021. That firm was identified as Jump Trading. The Terra collapse in mid-2022 led to a significant contagion effect in the crypto market. Jump Crypto also incurred a loss of nearly $300 million when FTX imploded later that same year.
Jump Crypto’s Political Donations
News of the CFTC’s probe into Jump Crypto’s trading activities emerged just a day after its $10 million donation to a U.S. political action committee (PAC) aimed at bringing crypto-friendly legislators to Congress. So far, Jump Crypto has contributed $15 million to the PAC.
The super PAC, Fairshake, has amassed $169 million in total, with notable contributions from companies like Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). According to recent regulatory filings, the PAC still holds about $109 million.
Stay updated with the latest developments in the cryptocurrency world by exploring more news on Global Crypto News.