Canadian securities regulator warns of suspicious crypto exchange

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Regulators in Canada have warned investors to stay away from a suspicious entity, thought to be operating crypto investment scams without appropriate recognition from the regulator.

The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC), which is responsible for overseeing securities regulation in British Columbia, issued the warning notice against Canada Bitcoin Exchange Inc.

The platform, which runs from http://www.canadabitcoinexchange.net, offers investors access to a collection of implausibly excessive returns from crypto investment, including returns of 3,586% to 7,985% available within just 24-48 hours.

While the claims sound outlandish to experienced crypto investors, there is concern that this could have lured less informed investors into these investment schemes.

To make matters worse for investors, the regulator confirmed Canada Bitcoin Exchange does not hold the necessary license to trade or advise on securities or exchange contracts, making its solicitation of investments contrary to securities law in the state.

The securities regulator warned investors to avoid dealing with any firms that don’t have appropriate licensing in place, and said that those still operating without the approval of the regulator should be reported to authorities.

Some have suggested the Canada Bitcoin Exchange investment plans amount to a Ponzi scheme, with parallels drawn to the OneCoin scam, which affected investors worldwide with wild claims of crypto returns.

Created back in 2014 by Bulgarian national Ruja Ignatova, OneCoin claimed to be offering trading education materials, but in reality was found to be an elaborate and sizeable Ponzi scheme.

After a series of warnings from central banks and regulators across the world, the scheme was finally shuttered in 2017, with most of those involved in promoting the scam now missing or in police custody.

The warnings over Canada Bitcoin Exchange are designed to prevent more investors from falling foul of crypto scams, and come as the latest warning from a securities regulator over dubious crypto investments.

With a number of red flags for investors, the regulator can only hope investors heed their advice in steering clear of unregulated crypto investment schemes.