Malaysia regulator warns of KuCoin, Binance and XRP clones
Malaysia’s financial regulator has backlisted yet another group of cryptocurrency websites, citing their brands are not authorised to operate in the country.
Firstly, the Securities Commission (SC) said that the leading crypto exchange KuCoin and its associated brands are carrying out unlicensed capital market activities. The Seychelles-based firm, which is said to have over 20 million users in 200 countries, is the fifth-largest crypto exchange in the world by trading volume, competing with the likes of Coinbase, Binance and Kraken.
Notably, the updated list includes names of fraudulent clone platforms that have been posing as well-known, regulated platforms around the world, including a bogus website called Binance Futures Investment.
Earlier in March, Binance acquired a stake in MX Global Sdn Bhd, a few months after the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange left the country over its regulatory licence limbo.
Binance made an undisclosed equity investment in MX Global to help it build brand awareness and introduce new products within Malaysia’s regulatory framework.
The watchdog has also sounded an alarm over yet another fraudulent firm, but this time is shedding light on a mix of a cryptocurrency and investment scam. The SC, as part of its intensified market supervision, said that a company called Sultan Pelaburan Malaysia is an unlicensed trading provider, cautioning all retail investors about the risks of dealing with it.
Sultan Pelaburan Malaysia website claims to offer crypto and binaries investment plans, with returns ranging from 10 percent to 100 percent after 6 to 12 hours, which raises a red flag as far as investors are concerned.
As one would expect, sites such as Sultan Pelaburan operate as a High Yield Investment Program (HYIP) scheme where returns are always questionable, though they tend to dry up long before the original investment amount is repaid. The company provides no legitimate proof of payouts, and it is likely no one will ever see any money.
Elsewhere, the Securities Commission has also red-flagged a digital-asset investment firm called XRP Trading and put the company on its caution list of unlicensed operators.
The watchdog advises its citizens not to make use of such services nor to make any investment with companies or individuals that are not approved or licensed by the SC.
Anyone who engages in regulated activities without a valid license or registration from the SC is committing an offence under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007. If convicted, they may be punished with imprisonment of up to ten years and fined.
