The Prometheum crypto project has received approval from the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to provide securities clearing and settlement services. Previously, the project raised questions among some representatives of the crypto community.

To obtain approval, Prometheum took advantage of its broker-dealer license obtained last year from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company's chief executive, Aaron Kaplan, said the company plans to provide custody services to institutional clients, including asset managers and hedge funds, in the first quarter of 2024. Immediately after this, trading in digital assets will be available to institutional and retail investors.

According to Kaplan, to comply with US laws, crypto companies must first obtain a special broker-dealer license and then authorization for clearing and settlement services.

Prometheum received regulatory approvals amid calls from the SEC for crypto companies to register with the agency. A few months ago, the regulator accused large cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Binance and Kraken of trading unregistered securities, as well as failing to register as a broker-dealer. The exchanges themselves claim that it is impossible to register with the agency due to the lack of clear rules for regulating the crypto industry.

Back in July, advocacy group Blockchain Association suggested that Prometheum may have colluded with the SEC to prevent specifics on cryptocurrency regulation and have an unfair advantage in the market.

In October, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said cryptocurrencies do not need new regulations and the agency would never allow hedge funds or broker/dealers to do what crypto dealers do.