OSC issues warning about 5 cryptocurrency firms

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has named five firms that it says “appear to be involved in schemes that target Ontario investors and encourage them to trade or invest in cryptocurrencies.”

Those firms, which the commission says in a release aren’t registered by the province to solicit investments or provide advice on investing in, buying or selling securities, are:

• BTCReal, which manages the website btcreal.biz, and “claims to provide full investment services for cryptocurrency-related investments and forex,” says OSC. It also promises high returns over short periods.
• BitSerial, which operates the website bitserial.io, and offers opportunities to invest in so-called BTE Tokens. It also “encourages investors to participate in a lending program where they can exchange Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Ethereum for BTE Tokens,” says OSC, which the firm says can result in high returns.
• Hypercube Ventures LP, which manages the websites hypercube.vc, hypercube.fund, vnn.money and vnn.cash.
• CabinCoin OÜ, which operates the websites cabincoin.com and cabincoin.exchange. OSC says the firm is “currently advertising an unregistered token sale for ‘CabinCoin Tokens,'” for which it claims the future value “will far exceed their initial price.”
• BaapPay Inc, which manages the website baappaytoken.com. OSC says that firm, too, is advertising an unregistered token sale.

“Any distribution to an Ontario resident requires a prospectus or exemption from the prospectus requirement,” says OSC—and the five firms don’t have this.

The commission’s warning follows a May 17 cautionary note from BCSC about the risk of investing in cryptocurrencies amid worries that the lightly regulated market is ripe for possible financial scams.

Read: BCSC warns investors about cryptocurrencies amid possible scams

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.