On Friday, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced that they’re blocking Bitcoin Group Limited from publicly discussing their initial public offering (IPO) before they have completed all due registration procedures, after it came to light that the firm had been trying to obtain investments to the tune of $20 million.
The company announced that it was aiming to raise the money on the Australian Stock Exchange, and was already in talks with several companies, mostly Chinese investors who have shown interest in the project. However, the firm is yet to file a prospectus, according to ASIC, so the Commission has banned Bitcoin Group from making any public comments about their upcoming listing.
ASIC made a public statement regarding the situation, in which they explained that the Commission has equal expectations from all publicly traded companies on the Australian market. The companies have to be aware of their obligations and requirements related to their advertising practices, and also be properly registered as an Australian business, before they’re allowed to discuss the company’s status with potential investors.
Bitcoin has been getting more and more publicity lately, and public opinions about the cryptocurrency seem to be improving. Previously, there was a big issue with the way people saw Bitcoin and the overall trust in it, but the situation has been stabilizing lately, especially after several major companies announced that they are now accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment.
Still, events like this one certainly serve to undermine the public trust in Bitcoin to some extent, even if the problem revolves around a single company and not around Bitcoin as a whole. Bitcoin mining is an integral part of the process, and companies that specialize in it have a central role in the Bitcoin economy for a good reason – so when the public hears about one of those companies trying to circumvent the law and getting “slapped” legally, this is probably not very good for the currency in the long run.
Bitcoin Group will probably recover from their situation once they have gone through the proper registration procedures, but the firm will probably be under much more serious scrutiny on the Australian market from now on. People planning to invest in it should probably do their research more carefully and make sure that the company has resolved all outstanding legal issues first. In any case, if any further problems arise with the operation of Bitcoin Group, we’ll certainly hear about them in the news. Until then, it would be interesting to watch if Bitcoin price gets affected by these events, although with so much going on in the currency’s economy right now, it would be hard to tell.