There is a story going around on steemit based on an interview the founder of the Arise Bank ICO did yesterday. In the interview he stated that he and his work colleagues had been raided by the SEC and FBI. Interested? Check it out on You Tube:
The interview can be found here: 
And see a few of the steemit reports here:
But importantly, I am wondering if anyone knows whether this story has been told anywhere outside steemit? Has it been picked up by mainstream media outlets? I have conducted an initial search and not been able to find anything yet (but I have now been offline for a few hours).
I am curious about the mainstream media's pickup of the story for a few reasons. If it's true:
- Government intervention in crypto has been newsworthy in the past - there are stories about police raiding crypto exchanges in South Korea and other countries, for example. Why is it not newsworthy now?
- This has huge implications for the decentralisation agenda of many crypto tokens
- As I understand it, the SEC has reportedly confiscated the crypto equivalent of nearly $1Billion USD raised through the ICO so far (and yes, they have the passwords). On what legal basis were the raids conducted? Will the Arise Coins (ACOs) be distributed? If not, what will happen to the funds? Will they be returned to the investors who participated in the ICO? When ? How?
- Noting that investors from outside the US have been caught up in this (ie non-citizens), what are their legal rights? Are they materially different from the rights of US investors?
- How will the raids (and aftermath) effect other crypto currencies?
- It seems that many of the questions surrounding crypto currencies, including their legal status, may be answered far sooner than expected (at least in the US jurisdiction).
- Again, if it's true, HOW IS THIS NOT A STORY?
Let me know if you hear anything!
Photo - screenshot of the Arise Coin (ACO) symbol.
