New Jersey Bureau of Securities issues "Stop orders" against two ICOs

Bureau of Securities in New Jersey has announced enforcement action against two state-based initial coin offerings. Earlier, Canadian and American regulators coordinated by the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) issued stop orders against Zoptax and UNOcall, two Jersey-based ICOs. They did this with the assistance of the New Jersey authorities. 

The bureau accused both the ICOs of offering unregistered securities. Zoptax was seeking between $500,000 and $3.4 million for its Zoptax Coins while UNOcall was issuing tokens and investments in its staking protocol, which offered daily interest returns between 0.18% – 0.88%.

A complete stop on the issuance was ordered. New Jersey's Attorney General's Office said that the nature of issuance, the purpose of the investments, and misleading consumer information was behind the decision. Gurbir S. Grewal, New Jersey Attorney General, said that all firms have to be compliant of the market rules, regardless of the medium they operate on. 

"[The] Bureau of Securities stands ready to enforce our investor protection laws in cases involving initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency-related investment schemes. As innovation in the online cryptocurrency-related investment market continues, market players need to understand that the rules still apply to them."

As previously reported. Operation Cryptosweep has 85 pending or completed cases, 330 inquiries or investigations, and eight enforcement actions (including Zoptax and UNOcall) since the beginning of 2019. Paul R. Rodríguez, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs, said:

"The Bureau's actions today, and the actions taken by other securities regulators during 'Operation Cryptosweep,' are a reminder to investors that while not every initial coin offering or cryptocurrency-related investment is fraudulent, there are significant risks involved with these products. Investors must be on alert and not be tempted to invest in cryptocurrency-related investments without first vigorously vetting any transaction."