The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the temporary suspension stock trading for The Crypto Company, a publicly traded company based in Malibu, California. The SEC cites concerns information provided by the firm and possible manipulation.
Based on its website, the firm provides digital currency consulting and investment services.
In its release, published on Dec. 19, the SEC claimed that it is freezing the trading of stocks of the company until Jan. 3, 2018, stating:
“The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of The Crypto Company because of concerns regarding the accuracy and adequacy of information in the marketplace about, among other things, the compensation paid for promotion of the company, and statements in Commission filings about the plans of the company's insiders to sell their shares of The Crypto Company's common stock. Questions have also arisen concerning potentially manipulative transactions in the company's stock in November 2017."
Past trading performance
Based on data from MarketWatch, The Crypto Company, which trades under the ticker CRCW, is among the several small publicly-traded fintech entities that have posted surges in their stock prices in the past few weeks, amidst boom the in cryptocurrency prices. The cryptocurrency sector breached the $600 bln mark in terms of total market capitalization on Dec. 18.
Meanwhile, a report by Bloomberg claimed that The Crypto Company recently concluded a private stock sale for accredited investors at a price of only $7 per share. The discounted price is almost 99 percent less than the closing price of $575 per share on Dec. 18.
The company failed to issue an immediate response when asked to comment on the SEC decision.
Earlier this month, SEC froze the assets of another ICO firm PlexCorps, saying they violated anti-fraud provisions and sold securities (their tokens) to US investors without registering with the SEC.
Despite the seemingly “Wild West” state of cryptocurrencies and ICOs, where many claim a lack of regulation, the US is one among several countries actively regulating the crypto space.