The SEC has created a fake cryptocurrency website to teach people about ICO scams
It’s been said that experience is the best teacher, and that’s presumably why the US Securities and Exchange Commission has created a website promoting a fake initial coin offering. Users who click “buy now” are sent to an informational site about ICO scams.
Howeycoins.com: The phony coin is named for the Howey Test, which can be used to determine whether a given asset meets the legal definition of a security or an investment contract like a stock or bond. The Howey Test has become a hot topic in cryptocurrency circles as the SEC grapples with whether or not some digital coins should be subject to regulations designed to protect investors against fraud.
Now that’s commitment: Kudos to the SEC for its thoroughness in designing a website that fits right in among the many out there selling scam coins. The agency even created a fake white paper (PDF). Now let’s hope prospective Howeycoin buyers learn their lesson.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
The inside story of how ChatGPT was built from the people who made it
Exclusive conversations that take us behind the scenes of a cultural phenomenon.
How Rust went from a side project to the world’s most-loved programming language
For decades, coders wrote critical systems in C and C++. Now they turn to Rust.
Design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did it go wrong?
An approach that promised to democratize design may have done the opposite.
Sam Altman invested $180 million into a company trying to delay death
Can anti-aging breakthroughs add 10 healthy years to the human life span? The CEO of OpenAI is paying to find out.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.