Jay Clayton, US Securities and Exchange Commission said: “If a promoter guarantees returns, if an opportunity sounds too good to be true, or if you are pressured to act quickly, please exercise extreme caution and be aware of the risk that your investment may be lost.” “There are substantial risks of theft or loss, including from hacking,” he added.
This has been the financial regulator’s strongest statement so far. It seems US administration’s concern is increasing.
“A number of concerns have been raised regarding the cryptocurrency and ICO markets, including that, as they are currently operating, there is substantially less investor protection than in our traditional securities markets, with correspondingly greater opportunities for fraud and manipulation,” said Clayton.
But not everything was negative: “I believe that initial coin offerings – whether they represent offerings of securities or not – can be effective ways for entrepreneurs and others to raise funding, including for innovative projects,” the US official said.
“However, any such activity that involves an offering of securities must be accompanied by the important disclosures, processes and other investor protections that our securities laws require.”
Clayton joined the SEC in January, nominated by Donald Trump.
