Crypto.com Expands U.S. Presence with Watchdog Capital Acquisition Amid SEC Legal Battle
Crypto.com is making significant strides in expanding its U.S. operations with the acquisition of Watchdog Capital LLC, a broker-dealer registered with the SEC.
This strategic move will enable Crypto.com to offer American customers access to stocks and options trading, effectively integrating traditional financial products with its cryptocurrency services. CEO Kris Marszalek highlighted the company’s ambition, announcing plans to launch stock trading before the end of the year.
This initiative aligns with other recent milestones, including the introduction of CFTC-regulated UpDown Options and a partnership with PayPal, further diversifying the platform’s offerings.
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This acquisition comes at a critical time, as Crypto.com is currently engaged in a legal battle against the SEC. The exchange contends that the regulator is overstepping its jurisdiction by categorizing most digital assets as investment contracts.
By joining forces with Watchdog Capital, Crypto.com positions itself alongside other Web3 companies, such as Ripple Labs, that are also challenging the SEC’s regulatory authority.
These developments signal a pivotal moment in the industry, as firms navigate complex regulatory landscapes while actively pursuing growth opportunities in both traditional and digital financial markets.
Alexander Stefanov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coinspress and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
