OSC warning investors about BitConnect and BCC Exchange

By Staff, with files from The Canadian Press | April 17, 2018 | Last updated on April 17, 2018
1 min read

The OSC is warning investors about BitConnect, which manages an online exchange platform for a cryptocurrency known as BitConnect Coin.

“BitConnect, the BCC Exchange, and representatives of BitConnect are not registered in Ontario to solicit investments or provide advice on investing in, buying or selling securities,” said the OSC in a release.

BitConnect manages the websites Bitconnect.ca and Bitconnectcoin.co, where it claims to operate an online exchange platform known as the BCC Exchange. These sites offer multiple investment opportunities including “mining,” “trading” and “staking” for BitConnect Coin, also known as BCC Coin, the OSC says. BitConnect also claims to have raised money through an initial coin offering.

OSC spokeswoman Kristen Rose said that platforms that offer this type of trading may classify as a marketplace, and would be required to comply with the rules governing exchanges or alternative trading systems.

Read: 62% of investors would consider cryptocurrencies: poll

Other regulators have recently issued warnings about and taken action against BitConnect. The Texas State Securities Board issued an emergency cease and desist order on Jan. 4 against BitConnect, the OSC says. The New Brunswick Financial and Consumer Services Commission also published an investment alert in January about BitConnect.

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Staff, with files from The Canadian Press

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