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SEC Suspends [Another] Publicly-Traded Bitcoin Firm

Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:59 PM
Josiah Wilmoth
Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:59 PM

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a temporary suspension of Bitcoin Crypto Currency Exchange Corporation, a publicly-traded bitcoin firm.

SEC Suspends Bitcoin Crypto Currency Exchange Corporation

According to a SEC statement, the suspension began August 25 at 9:30 am EDT and will continue through at least 11:59 pm EDT on September 8. Bitcoin Crypto Currency Exchange Corporation was a publicly-traded corporation (OTC: ARSC) whose shares were traded over the counter.

Among other things, the firm is developing BitCoinMWallet, a mobile payment application “which will allow trade and redemption of Bitcoins or other crypto currencies using iOS or Android devices.” To facilitate the development of this app, the firm had recently acquired mobile payment transfer system KaChing.

The SEC expressed concern about the availability of public information about the company following the firm’s decision earlier this month to rebrand from American Security Resources Corporation to Bitcoin Crypto Currency Exchange Corporation and dive into the digital currency industry.

As the suspension order  states:

It appears to the Securities and Exchange Commission that there is a lack of accurate information concerning the securities of American Security Resources Corp….because of questions that have arisen regarding publicly available information about the company in press releases on OTCMarkets.com, dated August 1, and August 8, 2017, concerning…the company’s business transition to the cryptocurrency markets and early adoption of blockchain technology.

At the time of the suspension, ARSC shares were trading at $0.705. This represents a single-month increase of 814%, according to data obtained from Google Finance.

Bitcoin Crypto Currency Exchange Corporation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SEC Cracks Down on OTC Bitcoin Firms

ARSC is the third publicly-traded bitcoin firm the SEC has suspended since the beginning of August. CIAO Group (OTC: CIAU) had its stock suspended earlier this month and only recently resumed trading. First Bitcoin Capital (OTC: BITCF), a Vancouver-based firm, was just suspended last week after its stock price had experienced a year-to-date increase of 6,000%. First Bitcoin Capital attributed the suspension to a misunderstanding and claims they are working toward a fully-reporting, audited status.

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