Aug 10 (Reuters) - Bittrex has agreed to pay $24 million to settle claims by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the cryptocurrency exchange failed to register with the agency, according to a filing in Seattle federal court on Thursday.

The SEC sued Bittrex Inc and its former CEO William Shihara in April, saying they operated an unregistered national securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.

The SEC also claimed the exchange's foreign affiliate, Bittrex Global GmbH, failed to register as a national securities exchange in connection with its operation of a single shared order book along with Bittrex.

Bittrex Inc filed for bankruptcy in May. The deal requires the company and Bittrex Global to pay the $5.6 million fine and hand over $18.4 million in allegedly illicit profit 60 days after a liquidation plan is filed in the bankruptcy case.

The companies and Shihara agreed to an order barring them from violating U.S. securities laws. They did not admit to the SEC's allegations.

A Bittrex spokesperson said the firm was "delighted" to have reached a settlement and would be able to say more after the court has approved the resolution.

The Seattle-based firm had previously denied that securities were traded on its platform. Bittrex Global has said it has no U.S. customers.

The SEC claimed in its lawsuit that Shihara coordinated with crypto asset issuers seeking to make their tokens available for trading on Bittrex's platform to delete public statements that Shihara believed would lead regulators to investigate those token offerings as securities.

SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal said the settlement "makes clear that you cannot escape liability by simply changing labels or altering descriptions because what matters is the economic realities of those offerings."

Shihara called the settlement "a good outcome."

"It's vital that our country strikes a balance between fostering innovation, encouraging entrepreneurs and the need to protect consumers, and I hope today’s proposed settlement helps move that forward," he said.

Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York Additional reporting by Chris Prentice Editing by Matthew Lewis

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the regulatory body overseeing the derivatives industry in the United States, recently made an announcement regarding a legal judgment against Adam Todd and his affiliated companies. On July 5, Judge Roy K. Altman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a default judgment, granting a permanent injunction against Adam Todd and his companies, which include Digitex LLC, Digitex Limited, Digitex Software Limited, and Blockster Holdings Limited Corporation.

Operating under the trade name "Digitex Futures," Todd and his companies were found to have engaged in unlawful activities. They attempted to manipulate the price of DGTX, the native token of Digitex Futures, which is considered a commodity in interstate commerce. Additionally, they illegally offered futures transactions on a platform that was not a designated contract market, failed to register with the CFTC, and neglected to implement proper customer information programs, know your customer policies, and anti-money laundering procedures.

As a result of the judgment, Adam Todd and his companies are prohibited from trading in any CFTC-regulated markets or registering with the CFTC. Furthermore, Todd has been ordered to pay a disgorgement of $3,912,220 and a civil monetary penalty of $11,736,660. This resolution addresses the CFTC's enforcement action against Todd and Digitex Futures.

Ian McGinley, the Director of the Division of Enforcement, emphasized that this case exemplifies the CFTC's commitment to ensure entities are lawfully registered and to combat the manipulation of commodities in interstate commerce, regardless of the technology involved. McGinley noted that this order resolves yet another enforcement action against an individual and digital asset exchange that illegally offered futures contracts to U.S. customers.

The legal proceedings originated from a complaint filed on September 30, 2022, which alleged that Todd and Digitex Futures operated a digital asset derivatives exchange from Florida and actively solicited participation from U.S. customers despite being aware of U.S. regulation requirements.

The CFTC accused Todd of attempting to manipulate the price of DGTX, the native token of Digitex Futures, through various tactics. These included deploying a computerized bot designed to create artificial demand and filling large over-the-counter orders on third-party exchanges. Todd's actions were aimed at inflating the price of DGTX to benefit the Digitex "treasury," despite the knowledge that it would result in trading losses.

While the CFTC cautions that orders requiring payment to victims may not guarantee the recovery of lost funds, it remains steadfast in its commitment to protect customers and hold wrongdoers accountable.

The announcement serves as a reminder of the CFTC's continued efforts to safeguard the integrity of the derivatives industry and ensure compliance with regulations.