Colorado Authority Investigates 3 Cryptocurrency Firms Behind Unregistered ICOs

Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) has revealed plans to asses three crypto-based firms offering “unregistered Initial Coin Offerings” in the state as part of an ongoing investigation into a practice being used by fraudulent companies to defraud members of the public.

The investigation is being carried out by members of the Division of Securities, part of the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), an “ICO Task Force” convened by the Commissioner in May.

The announcement from DORA reads in part:

“The companies that received the orders are Bionic Coin, Sybrelabs Ltd. (also known as Cryptoarb), and Global Pay Net (also known as Glpn Coin and Gpn Token). Previous orders were submitted to Bitcoin Investments Ltd. (also doing business as Db Capital), Estatex, Bitconnect Ltd., and Magma Foundation (also doing business as Magma Coin).”

Commissioner Rome signed the “orders to show cause” recently which is a notice sent to business to defend their case in court by explaining their business operations. The court orders were issued on Friday, August 24, 2018, but at press time, none of the three firms have answered, the report notes.

Bionic Coin, one of the firms being investigated promises investors that invest in their token (BNC) a wild growth of their “money without any effort.” The site goes on to list the logos of media partners such as Forbes magazine, but there are currently no mention or reference of the company on the sites it claims are promoting it. The website also incentivizes users to promote the coin on social media for a chance to receive in exchange for tokens.

The story is the same for Sybrelabs and Global Pay Net. Sybrelabs Ltd, also known as Crypotarb encourages investors to promote the investment pool and “offers large percentages of profits for minimum participation of $25.00, up to soliciting “active investment portfolios” of $25,000 or more,” according to the report.

Global Pay Net is said to be an international financial platform with its native token (GLPN) that equates ownership in the business. The company also promises an 80 percent stake in the business for investors, and it lists cryptocurrency experts as advisors, two of whom, has denied involvement with the company.