SEC halts trading of yet another bitcoin firm over rebranding plans

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A Canadian company’s announcement to rebrand as a cryptocurrency exchange has resulted in a trading suspension from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

American Securities Resources Corporation (ARSC) announced that it has officially changed its name to Bitcoin Crypto Currency Exchange Corporation “as it prepares to enter the booming cryptocurrency markets.”

In a statement, CEO Frank Neukomm said the change is aimed “to better reflect the new activities” of the company. The publicly-traded company is developing BitCoinMWallet, a mobile payment application that allows “trade and redemption of bitcoins using iOS or Android devices.”

“We believe the company is now positioned to aggressively pursue cryptocurrencies and bitcoin opportunities, and have changed our name to accurately reflect our new direction,” Neukomm said.

The company’s announcement, however, has sparked questions from the U.S. regulator, which ordered a temporary suspension of Bitcoin Crypto Currency Exchange Corporation starting Aug. 25 until at least 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sept. 8.

In its Aug. 24 suspension order, SEC expressed concern over the “lack of accurate information” about ARSC’s securities.

“The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of ARSC because of questions that have arisen regarding publicly available information about the company in press releases… concerning, among other things, the company’s business transition to the cryptocurrency markets and early adoption of blockchain technology,” the regulator stated.
ARSC is the third bitcoin-related company that the SEC has suspended since the beginning of August. Last week, the U.S. regulator suspended trading in securities of First Bitcoin Capital Corporation (BITCF) citing concerns that the Vancouver-based company may not have been telling the whole truth about its corporate structure. BITCF said the suspension was an “unfortunate” incident, which they are working to resolve.

Meanwhile, CIAO Group recently resumed trading after its stock was suspended earlier this month, according to data from Bloomberg.