What sounds a bit scary in the first place is actually excellent news for the crypto-investment place. Operation CRYPTOSWEEP, a massive joint crackdown on Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) and cryptocurrency-related investment schemes such as crypto-MLMs, was unveiled on Monday by more than 40 U.S. state and Canadian provincial securities regulators during a event hosted by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA).
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Nearly 70 inquiries and investigations and 35 pending or completed enforcement actions since the beginning of May is just the tip of the iceberg for CRYPTOSWEEP, North American Securities Administrators Association President Joe BORG said.
“The persistent exploitation of the crypto ecosystem by fraudsters is a significant threat to Main Street investors in the United States and Canada […] Despite a series of public warnings from securities regulators at all levels of government, crypto-criminals need to know that state and provincial securities regulators are taking swift and effective action to protect investors from their schemes and scams.”” said Borg.
Borg pointed out that the initiative is modeled after a NASAA-led fight against internet stock fraud in the late 1990s during the dot.com bubble.
At the same day, FINRA CEO Robert COOK said that the broker-dealer self-regulator may issue a Regulatory Notice to provide guidance for broker-dealers and highlight “some of the areas [BDs] need to think about if you’re going to get involved” in digital assets.
North American regulators have taken some decisive actions against crypto-fraud over the last couple of weeks. The US SEC, for example, launched an ICO bogus site to teach and warn investors. Apparently, crypto-fraud has been identified as one of the key issues for the further development of blockchain and the crypto-space. Hence, CRYPTOSWEEP has to be regarded as another important step for investors protection and a sustainable development of the crypto ecosphere.
