Stephen Gandel, Columnist

The SEC's Uneven Cryptocurrency Crackdown

ICOs need tougher scrutiny, but so do Reg A+ stock offerings.

March 1, 2018 at 7:39 PM UTC

Stephen Gandel is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering banking and equity markets. He was previously a deputy digital editor for Fortune and an economics blogger at Time. He has also covered finance and the housing market.

1519929564_GettyImages-909848454 — Photographer: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

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Two weeks ago, Bitzumi Inc., which describes itself as a "vertically integrated bitcoin exchange" of online media and crypto-related offerings, began soliciting investors on its website.

Bitzumi has two executives, only one of whom works full time; the CFO puts in 10 hours a week. Its CEO, Scot Cohen, appears to have no prior media or cryptocurrency experience. Cohen, among other roles, is also the executive chairman of a company that makes a handheld device, the BolaWrap 100, which shoots a kevlar rope to demobilize perpetrators, Batman-style. A call to the number listed on Bitzumi's financial filing was not returned. Two other individuals listed on Bitzumi's website under management said they work for an outside company that has been contracted by Bitzumi to create content for its website.