The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the proposed plan of distribution for the Poloniex fair fund. The Fair Fund includes the $10,388,309.10 paid by the respondent.

As FNG has reported, on August 9, 2021, the SEC imposed a Cease-and-Desist Order against Poloniex, LLC.

In that Order, the regulator found that from July 2017 through November 2019, Poloniex operated a digital asset trading platform that meets the definition of an “exchange” under the federal securities laws. The Commission found that Poloniex did not register as a national securities exchange nor operate pursuant to an exemption from registration at any time, in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The Commission ordered Poloniex to pay $8,484,313.99 in disgorgement, $403,995.12 in prejudgment interest, and a $1,500,000.00 civil money penalty to the Commission. The Commission also created a Fair Fund, pursuant to Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, so the penalty paid, along with the disgorgement and interest paid, can be distributed to harmed investors.

On November 22, 2021, the Division, pursuant to delegated authority, issued an order that appointed DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc. as the fund administrator for the Fair Fund and set the administrator’s bond at $10,388,309.10.