South Carolina Ends Cease & Desist Orders Against Crypto Startups

South Carolina's securities regulator has ended cease-and-desist orders against two blockchain startups, public documents revealed Thursday.

AccessTimeIconJul 26, 2018 at 8:14 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 16, 2021 at 12:07 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

South Carolina's securities regulator has ended cease-and-desist orders against two blockchain startups, public documents revealed Thursday.

The South Carolina Attorney General's office, which oversees securities regulation in the state, published two orders explaining that a cease-and-desist filed against blockchain startup ShipChain in May was vacated, and another complaint filed against mining firm Genesis Mining in March removed the company as a respondent. The moves mark the first time such orders were dropped against blockchain startups in the state.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • The regulator had claimed that ShipChain's tokens and Genesis Mining's mining contracts were both unregistered securities. ShipChain pushed back against this claim in May, saying in a statement that the firm did "not believe [its] tokens are securities." Furthermore, ShipChain claimed it was unaware South Carolina residents could purchase its SHIP tokens.

    On Thursday, deputy securities commissioner Tracy Meyers wrote "the Securities Division of the Office of the Attorney General of the State of South Carolina, after receiving information regarding matters detailed in the Administrative Order to Cease and Desist issued ... upon due consideration of such information, finds good cause has been shown to vacate the [order]," referring to ShipChain.

    Similarly, Genesis Mining was dismissed from a its own cease and desist order. Swiss Gold Global, which was charged with acting as an unregistered broker-dealer for Genesis Mining at the same time, was not dismissed from the order.

    Shipping containers image via Shutterstock

    Disclosure

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

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.