United States of America: Reached settlement in the SEC investigation into Coinme over allegedly offering unregistered securities and making misleading statements concerning its crypto token

On 28 April 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into Coinme over allegedly offering unregistered securities and making misleading statements concerning its crypto token was closed after the SEC reached a settlement with Coinme and its subsidiary Up Global SEZC, along with their Chief Executive Officer, Neil Bergquist. The SEC stated that Coinme provided unregistered offers and sales of securities through a cryptocurrency asset named "UpToken" without registering as required under the Securities Act. As part of the settlement, Coinme agreed to cease and desist from any future violations of the Securities Act, destroy within 30 days the UpTokens they control or possess and remove within 10 days the UpToken from crypto asset trading platforms. Furthermore, under the terms of the settlement, Up Global has agreed to pay a penalty of USD 3.52 million, with Coinme being jointly liable for this amount. Finally, Coinme is required to pay a separate penalty of USD 250'000.