A Philippine regulator known as the country’s SEC recently warned against any investment schemes such as the one based on the Ethereum blockchain, labelling it as a Ponzi scheme. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines has warned the public against some individuals and groups that are engaged in unauthorized crypto investments and trading.
All of this was visible in an announcement on July 1 which states that people involved in crypto schemes could face a fine or around 21 years of imprisonment, or even both. As the Philippine regulator said in the crypto news:
“A maximum fine of P5 million or imprisonment of 21 years or both await those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents of entities engaged in unauthorized investment schemes[…] The Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, also punishes those participating in cyber incidents that make use or take advantage of the current crisis arising from the COVID-19 outbreak to prey on the public through scams, phishing, fraudulent emails, or other similar acts.”
If you are following our Bitcoin and altcoin news, you probably know that the Philippines has a strict view on cryptocurrencies – which is good when it comes to Ponzi schemes. The authorities recently listed three unauthorized crypto Ponzi schemes, one of which uses a protocol on the ETH blockchain. The schemes listed were Forsage, RCashOnline and The Saint John of Jerusalem Knights of Malta Foundation of the Philippines, Inc.
According to the Philippine regulator, Forsage and RCashOnline are Ponzi schemes without licenses to operate, which is why people should not carry on with investments or engage with any of those.
As they also said, Forsage is a crowdfunding platform based on the ETH blockchain which got the attention of the public. However, it is not in the list of virtual currency exchanges registered with the Philippine regulator and the central bank, which is why it raises an alarm.
The last one, Saint John of Jerusalem Knights of Malta Foundation, was actually registered with the Philippines SEC, but did not comply with its reportorial requirements and was revoked around 17 years ago.
As the Philippine regulator summed up, all of the three projects have one thing in common: they are Ponzi schemes by nature and rely heavily on recruiting new members in exchange for high monetary rewards.
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