Shipping Startup Denies Claims Of Securities Laws Violations By State Regulator
A statement released on May 24 reveals that Logistics and supply chain startup ShipChain has refuted the claim of South Carolina regulators that it crossed paths with state security laws.
Not long ago, the company was issued a cease-and-desist order from the South Carolina Attorney General’s office. The order expressed that ShipChain was providing securities to state occupants without being registered as a broker-dealer by the authorities. The offering being referred to are the SHIP tokens, which can be utilized to make transactions on the startup’s Ethereum-based platform.
In their announcement, ShipChain says that the state commissioner did not get in touch with them to check any of the claims leveled against the company. According to ShipChain, their private token sale was led according to applicable securities laws, and that it was held in January before the company moved its development group to South Carolina.
Since the private sale, ShipChain claims that they have not been selling, issuing or providing bitcoin tokens nor do they intend to do so anytime soon. The firm also maintains that tokens were just sold to qualified investors, among whom none were South Carolina businesses or residents.
They explain that:
“ShipChain is not aware that SHIPs were even offered in South Carolina or to any South Carolinian during the private sale.”
According to the cease-and-desist order, the company has 30 days to ask for a hearing to clarify the issue.
On May 21, US and Canadian state and provincial securities regulators opened probes into possibly fake crypto companies in an activity named “Operation Cryptosweep.” Regulators from 40 jurisdictions coordinated by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) have begun up to 70 examinations, with more reported to follow in the coming weeks.
