Third in a Month: SEC Moves to Halt OTC Trading for Bitcoin Firm

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has frozen the trading of shares for a bitcoin-related firm for the third time this month.

Aug 28, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. UTC

Updated Sep 13, 2021 at 6:52 a.m. UTC

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered a temporary freeze on trading for a publicly listed bitcoin exchange company.

On August 24, officials for the securities markets regulator announced a trading suspension for American Security Resources Corp. (ARSC), effective until 11:59 am ET on September 8, 2017.

The company – which has changed hands several times, according to existing SEC filings – declared at the start of this month that it would move to launch a cryptocurrency exchange, moving to rebrand as the Bitcoin Crypto Currency Exchange Corporation.

It was those statements and others issued at the time that appear to have sparked questions from the SEC, according to the August 24 order.

According to the SEC:

"The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of ARSC 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, among other things, the company’s business transition to the cryptocurrency markets and early adoption of blockchain technology."

As previously reported by CoinDesk, in the past month, the SEC has moved to suspend trading on at least two other bitcoin-related companies that are publicly listed on over-the-counter (OTC) markets.

Shares for one of those companies, CIAO Group, appear to have resumed trading, according to data from Bloomberg. In a letter to shareholders, released by the second firm late last week, First Bitcoin Capital pushed back against the SEC suspension and pledged to have it removed.

Red traffic light image via Shutterstock

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.