Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB), the Italian Companies and Exchange Commission has been actively implementing measures lately to ensure that the crypto market remains clean. One example is the sending of cease and desist letters to three crypto firms that allegedly offered investment services that were not approved by the government. Other than that, the regulator together with Malta’s Financial Services Authority (MFSA) issued a joint warning to OriginalCrypto, an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange.
Now, on 12 December 2018, CONSOB has suspended two crypto firms, namely Bitsurge Token and Green Energy Certificates, for offering investment schemes that were allegedly fraudulent. An official statement was published on 17 December 2018 on the regulator’s website regarding the 90-day suspensions upon the two firms.
Bitsurge Token promoted its investment scheme on its website bitsurge.io and a Facebook page named ‘Bitsurge Token’. The firm promised its investors monthly returns ranging from $1,000 up to $25,000 if they signed under the firm’s ‘token contracts’. However, the investors reportedly did not retain any autonomy over their tokens.
On the other hand, Green Earth Certificates offered ‘Green Earth Certificates’ to its investors and promoted that the scheme utilises blockchain in the attempt to protect rainforests from human activities by purchasing them. Buyers were promised 6% of the total crypto investments sum in the form of land such as rainforest areas in Costa Rica.
It was also reported that the two schemes are projects from a company which is not based in the European Union called Avalon Life.
The crypto world has been filled with scam and fraud cases lately, especially with its growing popularity. A London crypto company reportedly lost approximately $33 million to scammers based in China. $78 million worth of cryptocurrency was also lost in a Bitcoin fraud scheme that was carried out in Singapore.
Due to the negative image crypto investments have, social media giant Facebook banned ads related to crypto in January 2018 to prevent its users from falling into the traps of potential scams. In June 2018, the company lifted its ban on crypto ads except for those involving Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
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