Watch Out for Cryptocurrency Scams
What to do if you are the head of the SEC and companies in the cryptocurrency space appear to be pulling a fast one?
"The SEC has done a great job at pulling out some of these companies," remarked CNBC's Brian Kelly. "In general, the SEC has stopped trading on a lot of these so they have done a great job, in my opinion, with the regulation. They've understood that this is a new technology, they want to foster innovation, and at the same time their job is to protect the public."
Riot Blockchain was one such company investigated by Kelly and the CNBC crew.
In addition to an abrupt name change, CNBC pointed out some other potential warning signs related to Riot Blockchain just last week.
A number of red flags in the company's SEC filings also might make investors leery: annual meetings that are postponed at the last minute, insider selling soon after the name change, dilutive issuances on favorable terms to large investors, SEC filings that are often Byzantine and, just this week, evidence that a major shareholder was getting out while everyone else was getting in.
Watch more from CNBC regarding the fears about cryptocurrency scams below
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com