The British Columbia Securities Commission issues investment cautions regularly. 10/11/2023 – BC Securities Commission issues caution against Otrade Otrade claims to be in the U.K. and offers trading services in crypto. Its services are offered in British Columbia, but I was denied permission to access its websites: ottrade.io and toroc.io 10/05/2023 – BC Securities CommissionContinue reading “BC Securities Commission Cautions September 2023 and October 2023”
SEC v. Desalvo
Summary of Complaint On August 23, 2023 the SEC filed a complaint against John A. Desalvo alleging fraud in a crypto securities offering, and another fraudulent scheme in which he convinced friends to send money to his E-Trade account. Desalvo is a former corrections officer, creator of the Blazar token, and owner of a sealcoatingContinue reading “SEC v. Desalvo”
SEC v. Coinbase – Summary as of 08/28/2023
On June 6, 2023 the SEC filed a complaint against Coinbase Global, Inc. and Coinbase, Inc. in the Southern District of New York. The Complaint alleged that Coinbase was an unregistered exchange, broker, and clearing agency, similar to the allegations in SEC v. Bittrex. Among the alleged securities offered for sale on the Coinbase platformContinue reading “SEC v. Coinbase – Summary as of 08/28/2023”
Summary: SEC v. Bittrex
A private conversation in or around June 2017 between a Bittrex employee and one ofBittrex’s three founders illustrates the type of investor harm that can result from a crypto asset platform failing to follow or even recognize these obligations. The employee complained to the founder: “I hate people bitching that we don’t email them about market removals…I LOST SO MUCH CAUSE I DIDn’T KNOW.” The founder responded that his preferred response to those investors was “go f*** yourself” or at a minimum to tell them to “track your own damn investment or get a broker to do it for you.”
Are cryptocurrencies securities? The arguments focus on the wrong thing.
Every argument that I have seen focuses on the underlying asset – the crypto itself – rather than the agreement to buy and sell it. That agreement, not the thing being bought and sold, determines whether it is an “investment contract” and thus a “security.”
In the Matter of Linus Financial, Inc.
Summary Linus Financial, Inc. (“Linus”) has agreed to settle this administrative action with the SEC. According to the Order Instituting Cease and Desist Proceedings, Linus began offering and selling interest-bearing accounts to U.S. investors in March 2020. The currency deposited into these accounts was converted into USDC, a “crypto asset.” Linus then transferred the USDCContinue reading “In the Matter of Linus Financial, Inc.”
In the Matter of Impact Theory, LLC
On August 28, 2023 the SEC filed an administrative action against Impact Theory, LLC. According to the Order Instituting Cease and Desist Proceedings, Impact Theory has agreed to settle. Impact Theory sold NFTs as securities from October 13, 2021 to December 6, 2021, and as a result, raised almost $30 million worth of ETH. BecauseContinue reading “In the Matter of Impact Theory, LLC”
Capto Crypital 