Regulators in Australia are tackling initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cryptoasset funds that are potentially misleading investors, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced Thursday.
Citing worries about deceptive marketing materials, and that certain crypto ventures may involve illegal, or at least unregistered, investment schemes, ASIC has taken action against several proposed ICOs and a cryptoasset managed investment scheme.
ASIC has shut down five proposed ICOs, preventing them from raising capital without appropriate investor protections in recent months.
“These ICOs have been put on hold and some will be restructured to comply with the applicable legal requirements,” the commission says in a news release.
“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. 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,” says John Price, ASIC commissioner, in a statement.