Bitwise insists 'no affiliation' with startup facing SEC charges

Crypto scale money manager Bitwise Asset Management has stressed that it has nary narration with the failed exertion startup Bitwise Industries, which is presently facing charges from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Today we announced charges against Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin, Jr., the erstwhile co-CEOs of Fresno, California-based backstage exertion services startup Bitwise Industries Inc., for misleading investors astir the company’s finances.

— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) November 9, 2023

On Nov. 9, Irma Olguin, Jr. and Jake Soberal, the founders of Bitwise Industries, were charged with conspiring to perpetrate ligament fraud and taking $100 cardinal from assorted investors contempt its concern exemplary failing. The SEC has alleged that the brace falsified documents to deceive investors and rise funds. 

The company’s sanction being identical to the crypto money manager has caused immoderate confusion, with immoderate posts connected societal media using Bitwise Asset Management’s logo portion talking astir Bitwise Industries. However, the crypto scale money manager clarified that the 2 are unrelated.

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On Nov. 10, Bitwise Asset Management insisted successful a connection that they person nary affiliation with the institution presently facing SEC charges. They wrote: 

“San Francisco-based Bitwise Asset Management, Inc., the largest crypto scale money manager successful America, has nary narration with, and has ne'er had a narration with, the now-defunct Bitwise Industries, a erstwhile exertion institution based successful Fresno, California.”

Bitwise Asset Management offers assorted crypto-related products for investment, which includes Ethereum futures ETFs. In addition, the institution is besides 1 of the plus managers making an effort to get approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF. On the different hand, Bitwise Industries appears to beryllium a defunct tech steadfast that has not worked with integer assets successful immoderate way.

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