Empowered with new authority, securities regulators in Australia are tackling possible misconduct in connection with initial coin offerings (ICOs) and other crypto assets.
In April, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) received delegated powers from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to take action under consumer law relating to crypto assets.
This delegated authority enables the ASIC to combat misleading or deceptive conduct in the marketing or selling of ICOs, it says.
The ASIC is issuing inquiries to ICO issuers and their advisors, “where we identify conduct or statements that may be misleading or deceptive,” it says in a news release.
As a result of these inquiries so far, some issuers have halted their ICOs, and others have modified the ICO structure to address the regulator’s concerns.
“If you are acting with someone else’s money, or selling something to someone, you have obligations. Regardless of the structure of the ICO, there is one law that will always apply: you cannot make misleading or deceptive statements about the product. This is going to be a key focus for us as this sector develops,” says John Price, ASIC commissioner, John Price, in a statement.