tl;dr
Defunct Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform ezBtc has been found guilty of diverting $9.5 million (CAD $13 million) of customer assets into gambling sites and lying to customers. The platform operated from 2016 to 2019, based in British Columbia and run by founder David Smillie. A B.C. Securiti...
Defunct Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform ezBtc has been found guilty of diverting $9.5 million (CAD $13 million) of customer assets into gambling sites and lying to customers. The platform operated from 2016 to 2019, based in British Columbia and run by founder David Smillie. A B.C. Securities Commission panel ruled that about a third of customer crypto assets were diverted to gambling sites or Smillie’s personal accounts. The company transferred Bitcoin and Ethers to gambling sites or personal accounts, despite telling customers the assets were in cold storage. The commission is yet to decide on sanctions, and the case is not treated as criminal, so jail time for Smillie is unlikely.
A 2023 survey found that one-third of Canadian digital asset owners have fallen victim to crypto scams, with significant losses reported in Calgary.
Defunct Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform ezBtc has been found guilty of diverting $9.5 million (CAD $13 million) of customer assets into gambling sites and lying to customers. The platform operated between 2016 and 2019 and was run and incorporated out of British Columbia by founder David Smillie. The platform stopped operating in September 2019 and the company was later dissolved in 2022. ezBTC allowed consumers to buy and trade various popular cryptocurrencies, telling customers the assets were being held in cold storage.
A B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC) panel ruled that roughly a third of all the crypto assets that customers deposited with ezBtc or acquired on the ezBtc platform between 2016 and 2019 were diverted to gambling sites or Smillie’s personal accounts on other crypto trading platforms. The panel noted that “customers were unable to recover all of their assets” and that the “deceit led to actual loss.” According to a forensic data analytics firm hired by the panel, the company transferred 935.46 Bitcoin and 159 Ethers to Smillie’s accounts or two gambling websites, CloudBet and FortuneJack, while telling customers the assets were being held in cold storage. These transfers happened very quickly according to the BCSC. In one case, a customer had his Bitcoin sent to a gambling site just 14 minutes after making a deposit. The commission said it has yet to decide what sanctions to impose, which could include fines or bans from market participation. The firm’s founder did not attend the hearing and was represented by a lawyer. However, a BCSC executive told The Canadian Press in May 2024 that the case is not being treated as criminal, so Smillie likely won’t face jail time.
A June 2023 survey of 2,000 Canadians conducted by Toronto Metropolitan University found that one-third of digital asset owners in Canada have fallen victim to crypto scams. In the city of Alberta, Calgary, Canadian police reported the figure lost from crypto scams shot up from 2022 to 2023 for residents, from $14 million to $22.5 million.
More about Emeren Group Ltd
Emeren Group Ltd is a company that develops, builds, operates, and sells solar energy projects. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.
Sector: MANUFACTURING
Industry: SEMICONDUCTORS & RELATED DEVICES
Market Cap: 77345000
Dividend Yield: None
EPS: -0.68
PE Ratio: 1.918
Profit Margin: -0.127
Revenue: 106582000
Price to Book: 4.38
Price to Sales: 3.42
ROE: 0.148