prometheum

Digital asset market infrastructure provider Prometheum recently launched Digital Brokerage Solutions, offering agency clearing, custody, and trading services for broker-dealers and registered investment advisors (RIA), enabling them to provide cryptocurrency assets and tokenized securities directly to clients through traditional brokerage accounts.Co-founder and co-CEO Aaron Kaplan stated that hundreds of billions of dollars in tokenized securities have been issued on-chain, but there is a lack of distribution channels to reach mainstream investors. He believes that the crypto industry has solved the tokenization issue but has not yet addressed the distribution problem, and that broker-dealer and RIA channels are key to achieving scalable reach to investors.

According to Decrypt, digital asset market infrastructure provider Prometheum has officially completed its first batch of cryptocurrency transactions after nearly a decade of establishment and raising approximately $100 million, currently only supporting Ethereum transactions.Prometheum has been controversial in the industry for supporting the compliance path and regulatory stance of the U.S. SEC during Gary Gensler's tenure, and in 2023 became the first company to obtain a Special Purpose Broker-Dealer (SPBD) license from the U.S. SEC and FINRA, allowing it to custody digital asset securities under a federal regulatory framework. However, with Gary Gensler's departure, the U.S. SEC's withdrawal of lawsuits against companies like Coinbase, and the regulatory framework shifting to a more lenient model, the compliance and custody license advantages that Prometheum has built over the long term are being weakened.

According to a report by Businesswire, U.S. digital asset market infrastructure provider Prometheum announced that it has secured an additional $23 million in funding since early 2025, with investments from a group of high-net-worth individuals and institutions.The funds will be used to support its commercial expansion in the U.S. digital market. Specific directions include: providing digital asset corresponding clearing services for U.S. broker-dealers, enabling their clients to trade digital assets through existing brokerage accounts; and accelerating the issuance of blockchain-based digital native and tokenized securities products, which will be distributed through its broker network.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the digital asset securities platform Prometheum announced the acquisition of SEC and FINRA registered broker-dealer ProFinancial, and the establishment of an SEC registered digital transfer agent, creating a fully compliant tokenization platform covering issuance, trading, and custody.Co-CEO Aaron Kaplan stated that the goal is to achieve the on-chain representation of real assets under the U.S. regulatory framework, capturing the trillion-dollar asset tokenization market. Currently, competition in this field is intensifying, with institutions such as Securitize, Superstate, and Tokeny also actively positioning themselves. Kaplan mentioned that Prometheum has built its trading and custody infrastructure ahead of the market, providing a unique competitive advantage.

ChainCatcher news, according to axios, the crypto securities platform Prometheum has completed a $20 million financing round, with funds coming from a group of undisclosed individuals and institutions, bringing Prometheum's total fundraising to approximately $64.3 million. Prometheum has two subsidiaries. One is an alternative trading system expected to launch in the first quarter of 2025. The other is a custodian currently serving institutional investors, focusing on a few well-known crypto assets. This funding will be used to add more crypto assets and launch upcoming security tokens.According to the Web3 asset data platform RootData, Prometheum is a blockchain-focused company dedicated to building an end-to-end ecosystem for the trading, custody, and settlement of digital asset securities.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune, the cryptocurrency company Prometheum, which has had close ties with the SEC, is facing new challenges. With Trump elected as president and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler announcing his departure early next year, the company's previous business model based on "crypto assets as securities" may need to be repositioned.Prometheum co-CEO Aaron Kaplan stated that the company will shift its focus to issuing a broader range of securitized assets on the blockchain, including stocks, debt instruments, structured products, and ETFs.However, Matt Walsh, co-founder of Castle Island Ventures, questioned the actual trading volume on the platform and pointed out that the tokenization of traditional assets remains a niche market.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, crypto brokerage Prometheum announced the inclusion of two digital assets, Uniswap (UNI) and Arbitrum (ARB), into its custody services, with plans to launch to institutional investors in the third quarter of 2024.In the future, the company also plans to expand its digital asset custody services to support investment products issued and transferred on the blockchain, including bonds, stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, options, and money market funds.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, registered securities firm Prometheum announced that its custody business will accept tokens issued by Uniswap (UNI) and Arbitrum (ARB), which means the company will treat UNI and ARB as securities.It is reported that Prometheum plans to officially launch the related custody business in September.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune magazine, last Friday, the compliant digital asset company Prometheum launched Ethereum custody services. This move is noteworthy because Prometheum operates by classifying the token as a security and accepting oversight from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The launch of this custody service seems to validate SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's stance, who has countered the broader crypto industry's view that the existing regulatory framework is sufficient and effective."This eliminates a lot of the debate about being unable to operate under current laws," said Aaron Kaplan, co-CEO of Prometheum Inc., the parent company of the entity launching the Ethereum custody service.Prometheum's subsidiary, Prometheum Inc., which holds a broker-dealer license, has soft-launched the product with a small number of companies and plans to fully roll out the custody service in early June.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, as a cryptocurrency company compliant with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) standards, Prometheum is seeking to carve out a new path, starting with custody services, intending to conduct business by holding customers' ETH. Company executives stated that before launching trading operations, the company will also introduce several other tokens, aiming to open in the second quarter of 2024.The company has been a target of criticism and debate within the industry and has only recently passed the final hurdle with regulators to begin custody services, currently without any revenue. Co-CEOs Aaron Kaplan and Benjamin Kaplan stated that they will be holding customers' ETH by the end of next month. By then, the company will either prove its executives' claims that cryptocurrency can be handled in a way that reassures securities regulators in the U.S., or it will validate the opponents' assertion that cryptocurrency cannot meet the expectations of the SEC.Prometheum has entered and registered, but what will happen next remains unclear. While testing these gray areas, it may also help determine whether the SEC intends to classify ETH as a security.

ChainCatcher message, according to the FINRA overview document expanding the scope of licensing, Prometheum Inc. has the latest regulatory status and is about to conduct final tests on whether a viable crypto platform can operate fully under the oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).Prometheum is already the first and only special-purpose cryptocurrency broker-dealer licensed under SEC rules. It has currently received approval for the clearing and settlement of digital asset securities. Although the company has not yet conducted its first transaction or earned its first dollar in revenue, co-CEO Aaron Kaplan stated that it will begin custodial services for institutional clients' assets within the next four months.

ChainCatcher news, according to FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, digital asset company Prometheum responded to U.S. Republican lawmakers' concerns regarding its cryptocurrency brokerage license, stating that "Prometheum's technology is designed to develop a digital asset securities market infrastructure that complies with federal securities laws. This technology will serve as the cornerstone of a compliant and orderly digital asset securities market, protecting investors and serving their best interests. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) have reviewed Prometheum's previous relationship with Wanxiang and its affiliates, and concluded the investigation without initiating a formal inquiry."Previously, Prometheum signed an agreement with Wanxiang in 2018 to develop blockchain trading software, but that agreement was later terminated.

ChainCatcher news, the Blockchain Association is requesting the U.S. SEC Inspector General to approve an investigation into potential misconduct by Prometheum as the first special purpose broker-dealer. The Blockchain Association emphasized its skepticism regarding Prometheum's acquisition of the SPBD license, as there remains uncertainty about the applicability of U.S. securities laws to cryptocurrency companies.Additionally, the Blockchain Association expressed doubts about how Prometheum CEO Aaron Kaplan secured a seat to testify in front of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee in June. (Source link)

ChainCatcher News, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville and others have written to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), urging them to investigate the full-service digital asset securities market Prometheum. The senator stated that Prometheum concealed the fact that it continued to receive funding and technical support from Chinese investors between December 2018 and October 2021.The senator believes that "making false statements to Congress is a criminal act, and submitting false or misleading statements in SEC filings constitutes securities fraud. These relationships of Prometheum deeply concern each of us and many of our colleagues in Congress." Most of the House Republican lawmakers who signed this letter are members of the House Financial Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over the SEC. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, the encrypted enterprise Prometheum stated that it will provide digital asset securities (Tokens) trading, clearing, settlement, and custody services on a platform regulated by the SEC. The digital asset securities (Tokens) supported by the new platform will include Flow, Filecoin, The Graph, Compound, and Celo.It is reported that Prometheum Ember ATS is a subsidiary of Prometheum Inc., and Prometheum ATS is a registered broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. At the beginning of last year, Prometheum completed a $15 million financing. (source link)