SEC Facebook

The Commission has received information that individuals or group of persons
representing COIN-OPTION.COM are enticing the public through social media to invest their
money in high-earning investment products involving cryptocurrencies particularly bitcoins.
For the information of the public COIN-OPTION.COM is NOT REGISTERED with the
Commission as a corporation or partnership and is NOT AUTHORIZED to solicit investments
from the public, not having secured prior registration and/or license to solicit investments as
prescribed under Section 8 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC).
Those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents of these unregistered investment
entities in selling or convincing people to invest in the these schemes being offered by them
including solicitations or recruitment through the internet may likewise be prosecuted and held
criminally liable under Section 28 of the Securities Regulation Code and penalized with a fine of
not less than Fifty Thousand pesos (P50,000.00) nor more than a maximum fine of Five Million
Pesos (P5,000,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than seven (7) years nor more than Twenty
One (21) years or both pursuant to Section 73 of the SRC.
Accordingly, those who invite or recruit other people to join or invest in this venture or
offer investment contracts or securities to the public may be held criminally liable or
accordingly sanctioned or penalized in accordance with the Supreme Court decision in the case
of SEC vs. Oudine Santos (G.R. No. 195542, March 19, 2014).
Warning on Internet-Based Ponzi Schemes
The public is likewise warned of the rampant internet-based bitcoin and cryptocurrency
Ponzi schemes characterized by the following:
1. Their entities are not SEC-registered;
2. Their investment offers are not SEC-registered;
3. They claim having investments in cryptocurrencies like bitcoins to earn profits;
4. They offer or guarantee a huge profit in a very short period;
5. They often utilize a binary network (i.e. upline and downline) to earn commissions;
6. They operate without paper trails (i.e. contracts, receipts);
7. They promise little or no financial risk;
8. They impose provisions for a lock-up period where an investor cannot touch the
investment (i.e. 60 days);
9. They assure pay-off of investments in a short time;
10. They use high-pressure methods to convince investors to reinvest their earnings;
11. Information about their principal office, address, founders, directors or officers are
unknown; and
12. Their orientation seminars are conducted informally.
These investment schemes collapse as fast as they are created while leaving their
investors behind and unable to recoup their investments.
Thus, any person who, directly or indirectly, in connection with the purchase or sale of
any securities, (1) employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud, (2) obtain money or
property by means of any untrue statement of a material fact of any omission to state a
material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances
under which they were made, not misleading; or (3) engage in any act, transaction, practice or
course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person shall
likewise be prosecuted and held criminally liable under Section 26 of the Securities Regulation
Code and penalized accordingly pursuant to Section 73 of the SRC.
Lastly, the names of all those involved will be reported to the Bureau of Internal
Revenue (BIR) so that the appropriate penalties and/or taxes be correspondingly assessed. In
view thereof, the public is hereby advised to exercise prudence before investing in these kinds
of activities and to take the necessary precaution in dealing with these unregistered investment
entities.
Should you have any information regarding the operation of the subject entities and
other similar schemes, please coordinate with the Enforcement and Investor Protection
Department at telephone numbers 818-6047 or email us at epd@sec.gov.ph.
For the guidance of the public