The planned initial coin offering of BitConnect has been given yet another cease-and-desist letter from U.S. state regulators.
In a release on January 9, the regulators from the North Carolina Securities Division defined the temporary cease-and-desist, saying that BitConnect hadn’t registered to deal or sell securities in the Tar Heel State.
According to the release, the division found out that BitConnect had planned to sell unregistered securities in their initial coin offering (ICO), which was scheduled to launch on January 10.
The release read:
“A summary cease & desist order is issued by the Securities Division when it appears that ongoing activity violates the North Carolina Securities Act or the North Carolina Investment Advisers Act and poses the threat of irreparable harm to the investing public.
“The cease & desist order commands those who receive it to stop any further violations and to comply with the requirements of the securities laws.
“At the time of issuance of a summary order, the persons named in the order have not had the opportunity to respond to its allegations.
“The order notifies those persons that they may request a hearing on whether the allegations are true.
“If no hearing is requested, the Division will issue a final order confirming the allegations as true.
“A final order terminates the controversy between the parties and concludes the issues in the proceeding, unless and until it is vacated or set aside.”
The release continued:
“The Temporary Order to Cease and Desist found that BitConnect was not registered as a dealer or salesman of securities in North Carolina and offered investments called the BitConnect Lending Program and the BitConnect Staking Program.
“The Temporary Order to Cease and Desist also found that BitConnect had omitted to disclose material facts when offering these investments in North Carolina.”
BitConnect was given 30 days to answer, according to the temporary cease-and-desist notice.
If the company does not, the temporary order will become permanent.
Last week, the Texas State Securities Board gave out an identical statement regarding BitConnect, which some observers have accused of constituting a Ponzi scheme.
