Cryptocurrency

SEC charges Hydrogen for profiting over $2M from market manipulation

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Press fee Against market-making company Hydrogen for manipulating the trading volume of Hydro tokens to collect over $2 million from illegal activities.

Hydrogen CEO Michael Kane and Moonwalker CEO Tyler Ostern were also named as accomplices in the crime. Defendants reportedly sold an unregistered security token, Hydro, and intentionally increased its price just to throw it at unsuspecting investors.

Kane and Hydrogen created and sold the Hydro token in 2018, according to the filing. Tokens were distributed to the public through airdrops, bounty programs, and employee compensation.

Hydrogen colluded with South Africa-based Moonwalker to inflate the trading volume of Hydro tokens. Pseudo-strong market activity has allowed Hydrogen to cash out more than $2 million of his money from investor funds.

“As we allege, defendants profited from their manipulation by creating a misleading picture of Hydro’s market activity. and will continue to expose and hold market manipulators accountable.” Sec Officer Joseph Sansone said:

Moonwalker CEO Tyler Ostern has agreed to pay a $36,750 fine and is barred from participating in future securities offerings, according to the SEC.

Hydrogen, Kane, and Ostern later appear in federal district court in Manhattan to defend their case.

Call for securities registration

The SEC has asked token issuers and cryptocurrency exchanges offering securities to formally register with the commission to avoid legal battles.

The Bloom Protocol has complied with the SEC directive after raising $30.9 million from the sale of unregistered BLT tokens during the 2018 ICO boom.

Chicago Crypto Capital (CCC) is in a legal battle to settle with the SEC for allegedly defrauding investors out of $1.5 million by failing to register its BXY token.

Crypto promoter Ian Ballina has refused to comply with the SEC after being accused of receiving payments to promote unregistered SPRK tokens.

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