The CFTC Whistleblower Office asked the public to report virtual
currency fraud.
In a CFTC Alert, the agency warned the public about companies or
individuals that commit fraud when soliciting investments in
virtual currency. In the Alert, the agency instructed "victims
of fraud and other market participants who observe misconduct
committed by others" how they may qualify as
whistleblowers.
The CFTC identified the following common types of fraud:
- price manipulation
(e.g., pump-and-dump schemes);
- wash trading;
- trading futures, options or swaps on
an unregistered domestic platform or facility;
- certain virtual currency marketing by
unregistered persons; and
- supervision failures or fraudulent
activity by virtual currency exchanges.
