The securities regulator in the Philippines has issued a public notice cautioning against ongoing cryptocurrency fraud. The fraud is called BitAccelerate, and it entices investors by guaranteeing returns of a maximum of 350%. The warning to the fraudsters also told them they are liable to fines exceeding $100,000 and a jail term of 21 years after conviction.
The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) published the caution on its website. It informed the public that the establishment of BitAccelerate in the Philippines was illegal.
The BitAccelerator project allegedly describes itself as a blockchain crowdfunding platform. It allegedly presents a lasting active and passive profit investment strategy to investors using a referral method.
The profits are attractive. There is an everyday profit of 2% for people who fail to recruit direct referrals. There is a 1% increase point when you double the direct referrals. With 32 referrals, an investor earns an 8% daily profit.
According to its website, $100 is the minimum payout. It also purports that an investor can generate a passive income of 350%.
For BitAccelerate members to generate profit, it relies on a referral method. The SEC says that this signifies it relies on new investors’ money. As a result, ‘in essence, it makes false its claim that it is stable because its entire method
solely relies on the recruitment of the new investors.’
‘But, our records indicate that the Commission has not registered BITACCELERATE / BITACCELERATOR and it is NOT ALLOWED to ask for, take or accept placements/investments for the public or present investment contracts and different kinds of securities,’ emphasized the watchdog.
The firm is also not included on the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) list of firms handling digital assets. Authorization should come from the central bank for any financial company intending to enter the Filipino market for digital assets.
The SEC also informed the public that digital currencies are naturally too unpredictable. Digital asset trading also has a very speculative nature and is very risky, it also said. Due to this, any firm that guarantees a standard high profit is probably fraudulent.
It also issued a warning to the ones behind these frauds: they face jail terms and penalties from the justice system. They are liable for a maximum penalty of PHP5 million or $104,000 or a jail term of a maximum of 21 years behind bars, or both.
Previously, the SEC has issued warnings like these; for instance, on Mining City, which could be mining fraud that guaranteed a daily profit of $92. Also, it issued Forsage with a cease and desist order, which was a fraud that pretended to be a crowdfunding platform.
