Bitcoin
BTC$70 449.01

-0.61%

Ethereum
ETH$3 550.02

-1.02%

Tether
USDT$1.000260

0.05%

Binance Coin
BNB$617.39

5.34%

Solana
SOL$186.62

0.58%

XRP
XRP$0.628783

1.29%

Bitqyck to Pay $10 Million-Large Fine


02 Sep 2019

Bitqyck to Pay $10 Million-Large Fine for Selling Two Unregistered Cryptocurrencies


The US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), continues with its struggle against unregulated cryptocurrency projects. The regulator's latest move has seen settling charges against two entities — a company known as Bitqyck, Inc., and TradeBQ.com, an online deals platform which sold unregulated tokens in an ICO.

Bitqyck, the company which developed the tokens, was launched two years ago, in early 2017 by Samuel Mendez and Bruce Bise. Since then, the firm has created and sold two tokens — BitqyM and Bitqy. The tokens were offered to US investors without being registered with the regulators, which makes the offering — which managed to raise $13 million — illegal.

Not only that, but the SEC claims that the tokens that were offered could actually be securities, not unlike the majority of the coins issued in the last several years. While the crypto regulations are still lacking in the United States, that is not the case for securities, and the two needed to register with the regulator as broker-dealers in order to be compliant with the current laws.

Further, the SEC claims that the token sale operators managed to raise money from more than 13,000 investors, some of which received $4.5 million in total for referring new potential investors. However, along the way, they also lost around 65% of their investments in the firm.

BitqyM’s false promises and exaggerated claims


According to the claims made by BitqyM, the raised funds would be used for financing the development of the smart contract-oriented ecosystem where the tokens would provide ownership in a crypto mining facility. The facility would also supposedly be powered by electricity at the cost of a below-market rate.

However, there are problems with this, as well. Not only was neither of the two tokens registered, or even compliant with the security regulations, but it seems that the company also does not have access to cheap electricity. They also never owned a mining facility of any kind, which brings the majority of their claims into question.

As for the SEC itself, the regulator has decided to impose fiscal penalties, in addition to including undertakings that would compensate investors that were tricked into buying the two tokens during the illegal ICOs. The company, Bitqyck, was charged with paying $8.3 million, while the two founders also got their own penalties. Bise is required to pay $890,254, while Mendez's civil penalty includes $850,022.

ICOs still a danger, but the SEC might be seeing potential


The SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office's director, David Peavler, commented by saying that digital investment assets have become a rather exciting new technology, which can make them very alluring. Further, if the investors believe that they are getting in on a successful project early on and that there is a possibility of them owning a part of the operations, they might receive further incentive to participate in token sales.

Peavler continues by saying that the regulator believes that Bise and Mendez took advantage of the investors' desire to support the project and join something bigger. This allowed them to scam them out of millions of dollars and has also inspired them to lie about their business.

The SEC's move comes in continuation of the ICO crackdown which had started back in 2017/2018, after the crypto boom that allowed digital currencies to become a new trend around the world. Further, the regulator believes that the danger of fraudulent ICOs still remains, which is why they continue with their warnings to investors.

With that said, the regulator also started approving of some of the projects, such as Blockstack, which is in the process of creating a dApp platform. This is also the first startup that has applied to the regulator and got approval.

Author: Ali Raza for Crypto-Rating.com

Related

NordFX Copy Trading: A Comprehensive Guide to Maximizing Profits
NordFX Copy Trading: A Comprehensive Guide to Maximizing Profits
Is a forex hedging strategy effective?
Is a forex hedging strategy effective?
Tips to Choose the Right Second Citizenship Program
Tips to Choose the Right Second Citizenship Program
Can ChatGPT trade better than humans?
Can ChatGPT trade better than humans?
Bitcoin’s continued slide down
Bitcoin’s continued slide down
A new round of crypto market mistrust
A new round of crypto market mistrust
How to Trade with ChatGPT. Tips and Tricks of AI Trading
How to Trade with ChatGPT. Tips and Tricks of AI Trading
Mastering stop loss for indices trading: 5 essential strategies
Mastering stop loss for indices trading: 5 essential strategies
Introducing Exness Team Pro - The voice of the markets
Introducing Exness Team Pro - The voice of the markets

Top Cryptocurrencies with Price Predictions

# Crypto Prediction Accuracy CVIX Price 24h 7d Market Cap 7d price change
1 Bitcoin (BTC) BTC Bitcoin predictions 75.6% 42 $70 449.01 -0.61% 11.75% $1 385 553 227 337 BTC 7 days price change
2 Ethereum (ETH) ETH Ethereum predictions 71.2% 50 $3 550.02 -1.02% 6.17% $426 253 072 703 ETH 7 days price change
3 Tether (USDT) USDT Tether predictions 92.4% 1 $1.000260 0.05% 0.05% $104 531 443 248 USDT 7 days price change
4 Binance Coin (BNB) BNB Binance Coin predictions 59.6% 80 $617.39 5.34% 11.04% $92 321 546 061 BNB 7 days price change
5 Solana (SOL) SOL Solana predictions 58.4% 88 $186.62 0.58% 9.70% $82 936 975 312 SOL 7 days price change
6 XRP (XRP) XRP XRP predictions 81.2% 28 $0.628783 1.29% 3.65% $34 510 279 075 XRP 7 days price change
7 USD Coin (USDC) USDC USD Coin predictions 90.4% 2 $1.000067 -0.02% 0.01% $32 524 331 222 USDC 7 days price change
8 Dogecoin (DOGE) DOGE Dogecoin predictions 66.4% 66 $0.215672 -0.54% 45.00% $30 984 665 921 DOGE 7 days price change
9 Cardano (ADA) ADA Cardano predictions 65.2% 66 $0.659879 1.59% 8.33% $23 481 442 590 ADA 7 days price change
10 Avalanche (AVAX) AVAX Avalanche predictions 61.2% 87 $53.77 -0.89% -2.19% $20 293 559 632 AVAX 7 days price change
11 SHIBA INU (SHIB) SHIB SHIBA INU predictions 57.6% 94 $0.000031 -3.74% 17.27% $18 155 779 036 SHIB 7 days price change
12 Toncoin (TON) TON Toncoin predictions 56.8% 86 $5.07 0.91% 18.93% $17 608 340 137 TON 7 days price change
13 Polkadot (DOT) DOT Polkadot predictions 74.4% 49 $9.67 1.52% 9.62% $13 797 724 802 DOT 7 days price change
14 Bitcoin Cash (BCH) BCH Bitcoin Cash predictions 72% 57 $621.45 9.32% 55.65% $12 231 843 665 BCH 7 days price change
15 Chainlink (LINK) LINK Chainlink predictions 78.8% 42 $19.11 -0.91% 8.11% $11 217 275 057 LINK 7 days price change

Be the first to receive Cryptocurrency Price Predictions and Forecasts daily

Get cryptocurrency price predictions, forecasts with analysis and news right to your inbox.

© 2015-2024 Crypto-Rating.com

The usage of this website constitutes acceptance of the following legal information. Any contracts of financial instruments offered to conclude bear high risks and may result in the full loss of the deposited funds. Prior to making transactions one should get acquainted with the risks to which they relate. All the information featured on the website, including information about the cryptocurrencies and bitcoin is intended solely for informational purposes, is not a means of advertising them, and doesn't imply direct instructions for investing. Crypto Rating shall not be liable for any loss, including unlimited loss of funds, which may arise directly or indirectly from the usage of this information. The editorial staff of the website does not bear any responsibility whatsoever for the content of the comments or reviews made by the site users about cryptocurrencies. The entire responsibility for the contents rests with the authors. Reprint of the materials is available only with the permission of the editorial staff.