Spanish Financial Watchdog Warns Against Unregulated ICO Scheme

A Spanish financial watchdog has issued a warning against Ethereum (ETH)-based token dubbed AlyCoin.

As Financial Magnates reported on Nov. 18, the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores warned the public against AlyCoin as it the coin is registered neither in Spain nor in the corresponding registry and thus promotes unregulated initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Specifically, AlyCoin purportedly provides its customers with financial services in violation of the second paragraph of Article 17 of the Securities Markets Law.

82 million of independent tokens

AlyCoin describes itself as an independent token based on Ethereum. The company’s ICO phase is scheduled to take place from Dec. 24, 2018, to Dec. 24, 2019, in which time AlyCoin is planning to distribute 35 million tokens in lots of 5 million each with a starting price of $0.10 per token in the first lot. The company further claims to be ready to release over 82 million tokens to the market.

AlyCoin also stipulates about its intention to operate in full compliance with corresponding laws and regulations, as well as procure all necessary licences and approvals. The company ensures that “it is not possible to guarantee that any such license or approval will be obtained within a particular period of time or in all. This means that the initiatives described in this document may not be available in certain markets, or in all,” which purportedly goes contrary to its business in the Spanish market.

Regulators blacklist crypto brokers 

Earlier in November, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority issued a warning against Bulgarian cryptocurrency broker 5 Capital, since the firm illegally offered Contracts for Difference designed to expose clients to the price movements of cryptocurrencies.

In late October, the Malta Financial Services Authority warned of a Bitcoin (BTC) scam that shared the same characteristics as a previously identified entity. The agency cautioned the public that an entity dubbed “Bitcoin Future” appeared to display “the same deceitful characteristics” as a separate scam, dubbed “Bitcoin Revolution,” against which it had already issued two public warnings this year.