FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29 2022 
Contact: JoDonn Chaney, (573) 526-0949

 

Missouri Securities Division Joins States, SEC in $100 Million Settlement with Digital Asset Company 

Jefferson City, Mo. — Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Securities Division has announced that digital-asset financial services company, BlockFi Lending LLC (BlockFi), has agreed to pay $50 million to members of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and an additional $50 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle claims related to the offer and sale of unregistered securities. BlockFi had over 400,000 investors in the U.S.  

On March 25, BlockFi entered into a consent order with the Missouri Securities Division.  The unregistered securities offered and sold to Missourians and other investors across the country were in the form of interest-bearing digital asset deposit accounts called BlockFi Interest Accounts (BIAs).  According to Securities Commissioner David Minnick, more than 5,300 Missourians held BIAs at BlockFi. 

The $50 million settlement with the NASAA members will be shared equally, with $943,396.22 paid to the Missouri Investor Education and Protection fund over the next two years. 

BlockFi’s agreement to enter into a settlement with the division comes amidst rising concerns over the proliferation of decentralized digital asset-based financial products and services targeting retail investors. Many of these products and services are analogous to traditional financial services offered by banks and brokerages, but without any of the regulatory safeguards provided by registered firms and products.  

“State securities regulators recognize the value new technology brings to financial markets,” said Ashcroft. “It is important to still have safeguards in place that facilitate competitive capital markets and investor protection. These safeguards make it harder for individuals and companies to cheat investors.”    

Ashcroft urges investors to call the toll-free investor protection hotline at 800-721-7996 or go online to Missouri Protects Investors for more information or to file a complaint.

—30— 

Visit www.sos.mo.gov to learn more about the Office of the Missouri Secretary of State.