The Colorado Division of Securities has filed cessation orders against four Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) allegedly involved in fraudulent and illicit practices, according to an official announcement Nov. 20. Colorado Securities Commissioner Gerald Rome issued the new cease and desist orders following investigations by the Division’s ICO Task Force. Rome has issued 18 cessation orders to ICO projects offering unregistered securities since May, 2018. According to the announcement, at least two more orders are still pending. The recent orders affected four crypto and blockchain-related firms; Global Pay Net, Credits LLC, CrowdShare Mining, and CyberSmart Coin Invest. All the companies were …

Securities Commissioner Karen Tyler of North Dakota, U.S., has issued a cease and desist order against a Russian Initial Coin Offering (ICO) that posed as Liechtenstein Union Bank, according to a Monday, Nov. 19 press release. The state Securities Department’s ICO Task Force conducted an investigation and found out that the website of the fraudulent ICO mimicked Union Bank Payment Coin (UBPC) — an existing token launched by Union Bank in Liechtenstein back in August. As per the regulator, the project’s website claimed to become the “world’s first security token backed by a fully licensed bank” and stated that the …

A new blockchain platform believes it is a “more attractive and accessible destination” for hosting tokens than the likes of Ethereum’s ERC20 platform, as it gives developers the support they need to build, market and launch custom tokens successfully. LindaX says it wants give entrepreneurs an opportunity to sculpt “absolutely unique tokens with exclusive features for designated transactions” – all the while helping them to “navigate the unfamiliar environment of cryptocurrency.” According to its white paper, the startup’s team would be on hand to help fledgling businesses forge connections with exchanges who can list their token, and offer strategies that …

Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) are facing a regulatory “compliance trilemma,” according to a recent study released Nov. 19. The research, funded by regtech platform iComply and “supported by” Canadian non-profit national research organization Mitacs Canada, was carried out by the University of British Columbia (UBC). To prepare the report, UBC’s research team investigated the ICO space over the course of six months, focusing primarily on North America, but also delving into some other countries and jurisdictions. The team conducted 45 qualitative interviews with individuals in the ICO space, including representatives of the finance, law, and science sectors of the field. …

Initial Coin Offering (ICO) performance was in part characterized by “overall disappointment” in the third quarter of 2018, according to a study from ICO analysis firm ICORating published Nov. 15. As the report states, Q3 2018 saw 597 ICOs raise over $1.8 billion, a notably lower value than the over $8.3 billion reportedly raised in the previous quarter. A similar decline in investment has been reported in traditional Venture Capital (VC) funding for blockchain projects. In the report, the decline in funding is accompanied by a median return on investment (ROI) of -22 percent in Q3 2018. As the report …

In a self-described “first,” the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has imposed civil penalties against two Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) solely over their failure to register their token sales, according to an official Nov. 16 press release. The SEC states it has reached settlements with two ICO companies, CarrierEQ Inc. (Airfox) and Paragon Coin Inc., both of whom reportedly conducted their token sales last year after the SEC had already “warned” that ICOs could be deemed securities offerings in its July 2017 DAO Report of Investigation. The nature of the settlements require both companies to “return funds to harmed …

The suspect at the center of the U.S.’ first Initial Coin Offering (ICO) fraud case has pleaded guilty in court, in part settling a case seen as a bellwether for the country’s securities laws, Bloomberg reported Nov. 15. Maksim Zaslavskiy, who faces a sentence of up to 37 months after lying to investors who put funds into two ICOs last year, confirmed he had lied about aspects of his operations. The court case involves REcoin and Diamond Reserve Coin, which had claimed to be backed by real estate and diamonds respectively. Investors lost money when both coins imploded, Zaslavskiy and …

Ohio Congressman Warren Davidson plans to introduce a bill that would allow Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) to “sidestep” U.S. securities laws, according to a report from Washington Examiner Nov. 13. Citing a spokesman for Davidson – Republican congressman for the 8th district of the state of Ohio – the publication reports that the prospective bill would propose that ICOs be treated as products rather than as securities at the federal and state level. The move would reportedly “eliminate” the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s oversight of the industry. The Washington Examiner notes that while the congressman aspires to seal …

Disclaimer: This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision. The ICOmeter aims to provide the accurate and concise information about the development of the ICO market in the previous month, and its relation to the all-time statistics. The ICO market data is provided by ICObench, based upon the projects’ announcements recorded in ICObench database, which includes over 4700 ICOs since August 2015. ICO market situation in October is the result of different trends: the inertial forces put in motion months ago, during …

The Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) industry in France represents a minor part of the global ICO market, according to a report on ICOs released by French financial markets regulator AMF (l'Autorité des marchés financiers) today, Nov. 14. According to the recent study, the global ICO market has accounted for 19.4 billion euros ($21.8 billion) since 2014. Having experienced rapid growth since 2016, most of the market share has mainly been concentrated in 2017 and during the first three quarters of 2018, with 13.4 billion euros ($15 billion) raised within this latter period. As the AMF reported, France has accounted for …

The CEO of Swiss startup SEBA Crypto AG said in an interview that five “large asset managers” from both Germany and abroad have shown interest in their cryptocurrency bank, Swiss financial media outlet Cash reports Nov. 12. Back in September, the company had raised $103 million to set up a bank offering cryptocurrency-related services. At the time, CEO Guido Bühler had noted that the bank sees itself as a bridge between cryptocurrency assets and the traditional financial world. In the November interview, Bühler noted that SEBA Crypto AG expects to receive a banking and securities dealer license from Swiss financial …

Next month marks the fifth-anniversary of the People Bank of China (PBoC)’s very first crypto regulatory intervention, with the issuance of its ‘Notice on Precautions Against the Risks of Bitcoin’ in Dec. 2013. Over the years, the Chinese authorities have cemented an increasingly hardline stance, as their perception of the financial risks posed by crypto has hardened. Their action has spanned the notorious criminalization of initial coin offerings (ICOs) in Sept. 2017, followed by a series of stark measures that target crypto trading platforms, third-party crypto payment channels, social media networks, and offline crypto-promotional events. Just this month, the PBoC …