The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is serious about strengthening control over cryptocurrencies and ICO. Since April 2018, the agency has stopped activities of five campaigns.
As reported on the site of the regulator, these ICOs were blocked due to the lack of measures to protect investors. Some of them are now bringing their rules in line with the law in order to resume campaigns. According to the ministry, there is also an investigation underway regarding actions of one completed ICO.
“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”, ASIC Commissioner John Price said in a statement.
Price also points out that there are certain problems in the ICO sphere in Australia. For example using misleading applications in advertising, illegal or unregistered operation schemes, as well as lack of a license for some startups.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT?
- ICO is not banned in Australia, and there are no laws in this country that strictly regulate their operation. Anyone who has access to Internet can create and conduct such a campaign. Regulators constantly remind that this is a highly speculative investment and the probability of losing money, in this case, is really high.
- In early September, ASIC published a corporate plan for 2018-2022, which suggests tightening the regulation of crypto instruments and requirements for an ICO. In the coming year, the local watchdog will develop a legal framework to make the blockchain industry more transparent and safe for investors.
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