Thailand SEC Identified Nine ICOs and Tokens without Approval

By Chetna Phour

In a recent report, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand warned some Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrencies regarding the meeting of regulatory standards. The warning may put investors at risk.

The report was about the legality of certain ICOs and cryptocurrencies. The report warned the citizens of Thailand about investing in ICOs and cryptocurrencies because some of the coins which are offered to the general public do not even have SEC approvals. These kinds of ICOs carry serious risk so investors must think twice before investing in such ICOs.

In the report, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand listed nine ICOs and digital tokens which are not authorized by the SEC. The digital tokens which are in the SEC list are OneCoin, Every Coin, OFC Coin, Tripxchain Coin (TXC Coin), TUC Coin, and Orintum Coin (ORT Coin). ICOs which SEC included are Singhcom Enterprise ICO, G2S Expert ICO, Adventure Hostel Bangkok ICO and Kidstocurrency ICO.

The list also included the tokens and ICOs which have not had their smart contracts audited by the official ICO portals. The unaudited smart contracts also increase the risk of investment because when it is not audited, nobody knows other than the founders that what is there in the smart contract. Most of these coins are promoted on social media like Facebook, YouTube, etc. According to the regulators, some of these cryptocurrencies are operated like Ponzi schemes. These schemes encourage the investors to sell the cryptocurrencies to their family and friends in exchange for referral bonuses. Security and Exchange Commission of Thailand stated that

“There are opportunists who persuade individuals to invest in digital assets by assuring investment returns generated from digital tokens that are structured like pyramid schemes.”

Previously Chinese government shut down OneCoin. The company was widely known as Ponzi scheme because of its organisational structure and involvement of its central people in other Ponzi schemes. The organisation received scrutiny online and countries such as India, China, and Italy issues warning against One Coin.

In 2017, after the crypto boom, ICOs became one of the most popular methods of fundraising. As there are no proper regulations for the crypto industry, it attracts many fraudulent people who want to use ICOs for their self-interest. Because of increasing frauds ICOs are under regulatory scrutiny.