Australia’s Securities Watchdog Stopped 5 ICOs Since April
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced last week that it has stopped five initial coin offerings (ICOs) since April of this year.
In an announcement, the commission noted that a part of those token deals – which were anonymous – “will be rebuilt to follow the appropriate legitimate necessities.”
The statement further indicated that the regulatory body is paying keen attention to the crypto space and that it will continue to monitor activities especially relating to initial coin offerings so they conform to the law.
“ASIC is taking further action in respect of one completed ICO,” the agency added without offering additional details.
ASIC had recently announced that it was going to up its regulatory efforts so as to put a halt at misleading sales tactics made by ICO backers so as to protect unsuspecting investors.
John Price, a senior official at the Australian regulator advised investors to be careful with token sales as they also bear the responsibility for ensuring that their investments are not tied in dubious deals. Price also noted that ICOs must be legitimate and that they should not be avenues for duping investors.
“If you raise money from the public, you have important legal obligations. It is the legal substance of your offer – not what it is called – that matters,” Price was quoted as saying. “You should not simply assume that using an ICO structure allows you to ignore key protections there for the investing public and you should always ensure disclosure about your offer is complete and accurate.”
As CoinDesk reported in August, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) said that its exploration arm is working with IBM to create what it’s calling a “national blockchain” that will serve institutions and individual investors so as to help eliminate the instances of fraud.
