The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued dozens of subpoenas and information requests to technology companies and advisers involved in the red-hot market for cryptocurrencies, the Wall Street Journal reported. The sweeping probe significantly ratchets up the regulatory pressure on the multibillion-dollar U.S. market for raising funds in cryptocurrencies. It follows a series of warning shots from the top U.S. securities regulator suggesting that many token sales, or initial coin offerings, may be violating securities laws. The wave of subpoenas includes demands for information about the structure for sales and pre-sales of the ICOs, which aren’t bound by the same rigorous rules that govern public offerings. U.S. regulators have repeatedly put cryptocurrency companies and their advisers on notice in recent months about what officials say are widespread violations of securities rules designed to protect investors. Read more. (Subscription required.)
For more on bitcoin and and potential approaches to fraudulent-transfer litigation involving cryptocurrency, be sure to listen to this recent ABI Podcast.