Operation Cryptosweep
The robust probe comes amid the proverbial crypto craze, wherein the swindlers are highly sophisticated business men, rather than ordinary scam artists. The stakes are high for Main Street investors, especially regarding risks with crypto investments and ICOs. Correspondingly, securities regulators from the USA and Canada kick off an initiative to squelch potentially fraudulent crypto investments. For context, Initial Coin Offerings and cryptocurrency centric investment products are of particular interest to investigators. To date, the law enforcement initiative is the largest investigation of its kind. In like fashion, Operation Cryptosweep is a platform wherein state securities regulators can coordinate and take part in multi-state enforcement actions, as well as share information.
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) is the lead government agency behind the initiative. Spanning approximately forty jurisdictions over an expansive geography, the results are quite favorable. For example, and to date, seventy new investigations are under way. Further, and equally important, roughly three dozen companies are on NASAA’s enforcement “radar” for impending violations of securities laws. In some instances, companies are recipients of cease-and-desist actions.
The Digital Gold Rush
With tens of thousands of crypto Internet domain name registrations over the last few weeks, NASAA investigators are justifiably weary.
