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ARTICLE · 10 JANUARY 2018

SEC Scrutinizes Pumping Of Blockchain-Related Securities

Reed Smith
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JA Energy changed its name to UBI Blockchain and announced its plans to use blockchain technology to track food and drug products in 2016.

United StatesTechnology
Herbert Kozlov
Herbert Kozlov
Kari S. Larsen
Kari S. Larsen
Michael Selig
Michael Selig
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") is continuing to increase its scrutiny of companies that might be taking advantage of investor excitement for blockchain and cryptocurrency (ICO) deals to inflate their share prices and raise funds. On January 8, 2018, the SEC suspended trading in the securities of Hong Kong-based UBI Blockchain Internet, Ltd. ("UBI Blockchain") through at least January 22, 2018. 1 This action follows the SEC's suspension of trading in the securities of The Crypto Company announced in December 20172 and three other blockchain-related companies in the summer of 2017.3

JA Energy changed its name to UBI Blockchain and announced its plans to use blockchain technology to track food and drug products in 2016.4 Securities in the company surged from $0.55 a share in February 2017 to $115 per share before the SEC suspended trading. The SEC's suspension notice explains that it issued the suspension due to questions regarding the accuracy of

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