FINRA Regulator Suspends Former Banker For Mining BTC

FINRA regulator or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined and suspended a former investment banker for mining bitcoin. According to the reports in the latest cryptocurrency news, Kyung Soo Kim mined bitcoin since 2017.

The former banker operated the mining business without giving his employer a written notice. Kim was an employee of the Bank of America-owned broker Merill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith Inc. The FINRA regulator claims that he mined bitcoin by violating the rules which prohibit the members from serving as an independent contractor, employee, officer, and director of the partner of another person outside of the employer. Additionally, the members are also prohibited from being compensated in any kind from another person as a result of any business activity. Kim was later discharged from his duties by Merill in 2018.

What is also worth mentioning is that Kim was accused of forming a company named S Corporation for the purposes of mining cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin. He will now serve a one-month suspension that will prohibit him from getting in touch with any FINRA member companies during the same time. He will also pay a fine to about $5,000.

Given that he reportedly formed his mining company in 2017 when the price of bitcoin skyrocketed, it is hard to argue that Kim was not wowed by the excitement on the market and clearly did not want to miss out on the major bull run that seemed never-ending. The punishment as explained in the coming altcoin news may seem a little moderate compared to other people that suffered even worse when they tried to mine bitcoin under different circumstances.

As it was reported last month, an Australian man is now facing ten years in prison for mining cryptocurrencies on government computers. He only managed to mine about $9,000 which makes the prison sentence a high price to pay. Also, a 61-year old woman was sentenced to four months in jail in China for stealing electricity in order to mine bitcoin. The woman was also given a $1,500 fine after the lawsuit was filed by the power provider. It seems like Kim will be joining the army of sentenced people who try to make some extra money by mining without following the rules and regulations.