NH says two bankrupt crypto firms defrauded investors

New Hampshire owes Granite State residents money as regulators continue to grapple with how to oversee digital assets using regulations and legislation created for a very different kind of investment. We are tracking two cryptocurrency companies.

The Secretary of State’s Office of Securities Regulatory Affairs announced Thursday that it had filed separate petitions against Voyager Digital and Celsius Network, accusing them of fraud and the sale of unregistered securities. Both entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in New York last summer. The bureau has filed for bankruptcy, including seeking a refund to New Hampshire investors.

Persons who have invested in Celsius or Voyager may contact the Securities Regulatory Authority with any questions or concerns on the website.

The basic argument, in this case and many others across the country, is that the way companies persuade people to pay for digital assets, such as types of cryptocurrencies, is effectively turning assets into securities such as stocks and bonds. to be the same and therefore subject to regulation. Applies to other financial institutions. That’s also the underlying argument behind the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against New Hampshire video hosting site LBRY. On LBRY, customers buy and sell assets called tokens, which can rise or fall in value.

Proponents of cryptocurrencies believe that the nature of assets based on decentralized technology known as blockchain should not apply to many existing financial laws built around central authorities such as banks and stock exchanges. claims to mean that This issue is not resolved yet.

New Hampshire alleges that Voyager offered and sold unregistered securities in what it purported to be an interest-earning account. “Voyager claimed that investors could earn high-yield returns on these deposits and used them to invest in a number of high-risk transactions. The company is not a licensed and compliant crypto broker with any of the appropriate US regulatory bodies and is not publicly traded in the United States…publicly traded and regulated company,” the Bureau wrote in a press release.

The Secretariat has called on both companies to immediately cease fraudulent activity and the sale of securities. It also calls for reimbursement of losses incurred by investors, imposition of fines, and prohibition of future registrations.