The operator of two unlicensed digital currency exchanges has been ordered to pay more than $68,000 after a lengthy investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the country's top securities regulator.

Ethan Burnside was 100% owner and operator of BTC Trading Corp, parent company of platforms BTCT Co and Litecoin Global Exchange (LTC Global) from August 2012 until trading and account activity ceased in October 2013. The amount Burnside will pay is equal to all profits he made from the exchanges, in addition to the fine.

Burnside cooperated with the SEC investigation and agreed to settle the case by paying $58,307.07 in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest, plus a penalty of $10,000. He is also banned from working in the securities industry for two years, after which he will be able to re-apply to conduct business in the sector.

The SEC claimed BTCT Co had 7,959 registered accounts and had executed approximately 366,490 trades, while LTC Global had 2,655 accounts and processed around 60,496 trades. Further, 52 issuers entered into contracts to list their shares with LTC Global, while 69 issuers entered into contracts to list with BTCT Co.

More and more of this crap....seriously