Time to Worry? SEC Latest Probe Targets Cryptocurrency Brokerage Firms
- SEC's requests seek information about the structure for sales, clearing agreements, details on personnel and advisors involved
The Securities and Exchange Commission sent information requests in recent weeks to dozens of US brokerage firms who are involved in cryptocurrency, Bloomberg reported Thursday, as tacking misconduct in the burgeoning market is increasingly taking center stage into the agency’s scope.
Among other things, the sweeping probe by the top U.S. securities regulator examines the brokers’ business practices and how they deal with clients, as well as fees generated from crypto trading, financing and ICOs. The SEC's requests also seek information about the structure for sales, clearing agreements, marketing materials, details on personnel and advisors involved, and more.
The watchdog is worried that in many cases, retail investors aren’t adequately told about the risks involved in the cryptocurrency investment products.
While the latest scrutiny significantly increases the regulatory pressure on the local industry, it only follows a series of warning shots suggesting that many crypto-linked activities may be violating securities laws. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton described the ICO market earlier this year as “rife with fraud.”
A long list of actions to rein in the red-hot sector
The US regulators have taken enforcement actions, too, with a dozen companies having put their offerings on hold after the SEC issued warnings. Further, the agency froze assets of several cryptocurrency firms, halted ICOs and suspended trading in companies that claimed cryptocurrency or Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term dealings.
Most recently, the SEC has rejected another attempt by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, to list shares of what would have been the world’s first Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Earlier in May, the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) created a bogus initial coin offering (ICO) website that shows how ‘too good to be’ true investment opportunity in cryptocurrency would look like.
Putting cryptocurrency companies and their advisers on notice, however, failed to chill the booming market. The recent clampdown comes just as titans of U.S. cryptocurrency operators are in a race to build the nation’s first regulated venues for tokens deemed to be securities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission sent information requests in recent weeks to dozens of US brokerage firms who are involved in cryptocurrency, Bloomberg reported Thursday, as tacking misconduct in the burgeoning market is increasingly taking center stage into the agency’s scope.
Among other things, the sweeping probe by the top U.S. securities regulator examines the brokers’ business practices and how they deal with clients, as well as fees generated from crypto trading, financing and ICOs. The SEC's requests also seek information about the structure for sales, clearing agreements, marketing materials, details on personnel and advisors involved, and more.
The watchdog is worried that in many cases, retail investors aren’t adequately told about the risks involved in the cryptocurrency investment products.
While the latest scrutiny significantly increases the regulatory pressure on the local industry, it only follows a series of warning shots suggesting that many crypto-linked activities may be violating securities laws. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton described the ICO market earlier this year as “rife with fraud.”
A long list of actions to rein in the red-hot sector
The US regulators have taken enforcement actions, too, with a dozen companies having put their offerings on hold after the SEC issued warnings. Further, the agency froze assets of several cryptocurrency firms, halted ICOs and suspended trading in companies that claimed cryptocurrency or Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term dealings.
Most recently, the SEC has rejected another attempt by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, to list shares of what would have been the world’s first Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Earlier in May, the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) created a bogus initial coin offering (ICO) website that shows how ‘too good to be’ true investment opportunity in cryptocurrency would look like.
Putting cryptocurrency companies and their advisers on notice, however, failed to chill the booming market. The recent clampdown comes just as titans of U.S. cryptocurrency operators are in a race to build the nation’s first regulated venues for tokens deemed to be securities.