Blockfi agrees to pay $100M in penalties and pursue registration
1–10 of 240 posts
Re: Blockfi agrees to pay $100M in penalties and pursue registration
#2Good for the SEC and for BlockFi for keeping these kinds of things in the public purview. I hate how the FDA has so little teeth, comparatively.
Eg: https://peckford42.wordpress.com/2021/10/05/pfizer-covering-...
Re: Blockfi agrees to pay $100M in penalties and pursue registration
#3Interesting to read BlockFi's own statement about the event: https://blockfi.com/regulatory-developments/
No mention of the fine at all, and instead framed as "first SEC registered crypto interest-bearing security" (from BlockFi's page) rather than "[BlockFi] failing to register the offers and sales of its retail crypto lending product" and "the SEC also charged BlockFi with violating the registration provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940" (both quotes from the SEC statement).
BlockFi also doesn't mention the "false and misleading statement for more than two years on its website" part that the SEC highlights, and instead says "Both the SEC and state-level agreements contain no admission or denial of wrongdoing or liability."
Going to be interesting to see how the space develops moving forward. Hopefully companies that continue to mislead people will eventually disappear, or at least not be this popular among the masses.
Re: Blockfi agrees to pay $100M in penalties and pursue registration
#4The SEC has a whistleblower program that can award up to 30% of the fine to a whistleblower. Here's an example of someone receiving $32 million:
https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2021-211
If crypto prices go down, it might become more lucrative for crypto employees to start talking to SEC rather than trying to sell their tokens.
If you work at one of these places, why not start collecting documentation now.
Re: Blockfi agrees to pay $100M in penalties and pursue registration
#5Interesting to read BlockFi's own statement about the event: https://blockfi.com/regulatory-developments/ No mention of the fine at all, and instead framed as "first SEC registered crypto interest-bearing security" (from BlockFi's page) rather than "[BlockFi] failing to register the offers and sales of its retail crypto lending product" and "the SEC also charged BlockFi with violating the registration provisions of t…
They won’t. The desire for making a quick buck is too strong. The avalanche of marketing around crypto is going to lead many gullible people to “invest” in crypto and lose their money.
Unless regulators shut them down or expose them quite clearly as mlm/ frauds I suspect this isn’t going to stop.
Re: Blockfi agrees to pay $100M in penalties and pursue registration
#6Interesting to read BlockFi's own statement about the event: https://blockfi.com/regulatory-developments/ No mention of the fine at all, and instead framed as "first SEC registered crypto interest-bearing security" (from BlockFi's page) rather than "[BlockFi] failing to register the offers and sales of its retail crypto lending product" and "the SEC also charged BlockFi with violating the registration provisions of t…
No post body was provided.
Re: Blockfi agrees to pay $100M in penalties and pursue registration
#7Is there something about Gemini's version of the interest bearing account that makes it less problematic than Blockfi's offering? Why is it that Blockfi has taken so much heat and Gemini has seemed to fly completely under the radar? Does this suggest that the issue was the marketing and the implementation that was the issue rather than the product itself?
Re: Blockfi agrees to pay $100M in penalties and pursue registration
#8Is there something about Gemini's version of the interest bearing account that makes it less problematic than Blockfi's offering? Why is it that Blockfi has taken so much heat and Gemini has seemed to fly completely under the radar? Does this suggest that the issue was the marketing and the implementation that was the issue rather than the product itself?
Same question, with Celsius.
Re: Blockfi agrees to pay $100M in penalties and pursue registration
#9Interesting to read BlockFi's own statement about the event: https://blockfi.com/regulatory-developments/ No mention of the fine at all, and instead framed as "first SEC registered crypto interest-bearing security" (from BlockFi's page) rather than "[BlockFi] failing to register the offers and sales of its retail crypto lending product" and "the SEC also charged BlockFi with violating the registration provisions of t…
Quoted post unavailable.
Here is the full quote from the SEC statement (in case you missed it when you read the statement):
> The order also finds that BlockFi made a false and misleading statement for more than two years on its website concerning the level of risk in its loan portfolio and lending activity.
> Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, BlockFi agreed to a cease-and-desist order prohibiting it from violating the registration and antifraud provisions of the Securities Act and the registration provisions of the Investment Company Act. BlockFi also agreed to cease offering or selling BIAs in the United States.
Re: Blockfi agrees to pay $100M in penalties and pursue registration
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quoted post unavailable.
Here is the full quote from the SEC statement (in case you missed it when you read the statement): > The order also finds that BlockFi made a false and misleading statement for more than two years on its website concerning the level of risk in its loan portfolio and lending activity. > Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, BlockFi agreed to a cease-and-desist order prohibiting it from violating the registr…
No post body was provided.