SEC President Endorses Initiative Investigating Cryptocurrency Fraud Suspects

The president of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States (SEC), Jay Clayton, applauded the Operation Cryptosweep launched by the North American Association of Securities Administrators (NASAA) to counteract the scams in the cyber financial markets.

In a statement posted May 22 on the SEC's website, Clayton acknowledged the efforts made by US and Canadian regulators to protect investors and control fraud through the initial currency offers (ICO).

In this way, the government official established a position regarding the opening of some 70 investigations into cryptocurrency and ICO platforms by NASAA, whose first reports were exposed to the public on May 21.

For the government official these actions carried out by the North American Association of Securities Administrators, through Operation Cryptosweep, will serve as a warning for all the people who are taking advantage of the emerging technological innovations to carry out scams. He adds that the recent government action is a way to show that there is surveillance and that regulators have the capacity to carry out coordinated actions and take decisive measures to combat fraud with cryptocurrencies.

Clayton emphasized the above statement, because in his opinion some participants in the digital currency market seemed to act on the belief that by using new technologies they are exempt from complying with existing regulations.

In contrast, the SEC president reaffirmed that any sale of securities, whether made through traditional channels or through an ICO, is subject to state and federal securities laws, which have been in effect in the United States for more than 80 years.

On this he expresses that the delivery of complete and truthful information about the company that is financed, is the fundamental requirement that these laws make to the entrepreneurs. He also cites that this form of regulation based on information and disclosure has been the axis of the US economy.

In the United States, we have built a $ 19 billion economy by facilitating investments in our public and private capital markets, through our disclosure-based regulatory approach. Certainly there are improvements that can be made to our regulatory system. There are always and we are following various initiatives to increase efficiency and improve the protection of investors.

In his statement, the official called on the public and investors to denounce to the state agencies the possible fraudulent schemes and stressed the importance of carrying out educational work that educates and prevents the public about fraud.

Consequently, it invited investors to access the information that the SEC offers on its website, which includes newsletters, alerts, statements and guides that offer advice and guidance that helps to differentiate between true and false business offers. Clayton specifically cited the page recently created by the Investor Education and Defense Office of the SEC, in which a false initial offer of coins was launched, with the purpose of raising awareness among the public and showing the patterns that tend to follow Frauds with ICO.

This warning and training work is shared by state agencies in several countries, concerned that the boom in the cryptocurrency market has brought with it an increase in cybercrime and scams. Such is the case of China, where the National Technological Platform for Risk Analysis on the Internet identified 421 fraudulent schemes that are presented as digital currencies, before which it developed a scheme to guide the public on its characteristics.

In this same line of action, the Federal Trade Commission of the United States will hold a free workshop on June 25, in order to analyze the different forms of scams related to digital currencies and educate users on the subject.