The United States regulatory body, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), has charged one of Merrill Lynch’s staff $5,000 for mining cryptocurrency. Documents dated June 10 confirm the fine.
According to the “letter of acceptance, waiver and consent” signed by the employee, Kyung Soo Kim, FINRA took action when it appeared the activities did not comply with its rules associated staff.
Kim, who previously had no disciplinary record, should have informed FINRA in writing when he set up a separate outfit for mining, S Corporation, while still employed in December 2017.
Merrill Lynch had raised the issue in March 2018 when it dismissed Kim for the same reporting failure.
In addition, FINRA cites a more vague rule over professional conduct, which it says gives further grounds for its penalty.
“FINRA Rule 2010 requires associated persons to observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade,” the letter states.
In addition to the fine, Kim will be barred from association with any FINRA-associated firm for a one-month period.
The case underscores the continued attention U.S. regulators pay to even smaller cryptocurrency-related activities, a trend which could see major upheaval across the industry later this month.
As Cointelegraph reported, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization which makes recommendations on financial security to countries worldwide, will release dedicated cryptocurrency comments on June 21.
It is expected that cryptocurrency businesses will have to conform to the same reporting requirements as banks for exchange transactions worth over $1,000, something experts have already criticized as an impossible undertaking.