Call for bitcoin ban as investors cry foul
Print Edition
Hong Kong lawmakers yesterday urged authorities to ban bitcoin as more than 25 people flocked to police headquarters to complain about a scam involving the digital currency that media estimate could have duped investors of up to US$387 million.
The government should clamp down on bitcoin, said lawmakers Leung Yiu-chung and James To, who accompanied the complainants.
“The government should not just stand aside. It’s simply not enough to just ask people to exercise caution when investing ... it has to ban the circulation of such virtual currency in the market,” Leung said.
His comments came in the wake of a statement by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority urging people “to exercise extra caution when considering making transactions or investments with Bitcoin.”
The company at the center of the scam, MyCoin, describes itself on its website as a “leading global Bitcoin trading platform and application service provider.”
MyCoin promised clients a return of HK$1 million (US$129,000) over a 4-month period, based on a HK$400,000 investment that would produce 90 bitcoins on maturity.
Investors said they had been lured to the scheme by real estate brokers, insurance agents, and legal clerks.
“Clients seem not to be the young, savvy bitcoin crowd, but older, less savvy investors,” said Leonhard Weese, president of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong.
A middle-aged woman, who identified herself as Grace, said she re-mortgaged her apartment to invest HK$1.6 million with MyCoin to realize her dream of setting up her own company.
“Now I don’t even dare tell my husband.” she said.
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