Malta’s financial regulator warned in 2019 that Bitcoin Revolution was nothing more than a “get rich quick” scam. It called out the platform three times—the first in January—and told investors to stay away.
The warnings may have helped curb the company’s ability to generate substantial profits (no one knows since it essentially remains behind a curtain), but they didn’t stop it from operating. Financial regulators with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Philippines are now stepping up, accusing (in pdf) Bitcoin Revolution of being nothing more than a common Ponzi scheme.
The first clue that the entity is a scam comes from its assertion that investors will see 300% returns daily—or 9,000% a month—with a deposit as low as $250. The second clue comes from its basic business model. Bitcoin Revolution offers software that, according to the company, can produce winning trades with a rate of success that hovers around 88%-95%. Those two claims alone should be enough to have investors running quickly in the opposite direction.
There’s also the matter of Bitcoin Revolution’s legal status in the Philippines. Simply put, it is not authorized to operate in the country and, even if it held a business license, its modus operandi would not be allowed.
According to the SEC, “BITCOIN REVOLUTION is relative to the offering and sale of securities, in the form of investment contracts, to the public because its investors need not exert any effort other than to invest or place monies in the said company in order to derive income.
“As such, Section 8 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC) requires that said offer and sale of securities must be duly registered with the Commission and that the concerned corporation and/or its agents have appropriate registration and/or license to sell such securities to the public.”
The SEC advises investors not to do any business with Bitcoin Revolution, or any other entity that offers trading in digital assets with unrealistic returns. That’s sage advice for any investment vehicle, but if the company is still attracting attention, investors apparently haven’t heeded the warnings.
It is now easier than ever for individuals working in the digital currency space to be tracked and identified, making it impossible for them to hide when they try to operate illegally. The SEC has issued a warning to these people, as well, stating, “In addition, those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents of BITCOIN REVOLUTION in selling or convincing people to invest in the investment scheme being offered by these entities including solicitations and recruitment through the internet may likewise be prosecuted and held criminally liable under Section 28 of the SRC and penalized with a maximum fine of Five Million pesos (P5,000,000.00) or penalty of Twenty-one (21) years of imprisonment or both pursuant to Section 73 of the SRC.”
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