Australian Securities Watchdog Halts ICO Seeking to Raise $50 Million

An Australian initial coin offering project planning to raise as much as US$50 million has announced its token sale has been halted by the country's securities regulator.

Called Global Tech Exchange, the Brisbane-based project announced on its website Monday that its token sale has now ceased after the Australia Securities Investments Commission stepped in.

According to tracking site ICO Bench, Global Tech had intended to raise somewhere between $10 and $50 million in its bid to fund the creation of a cryptocurrency trading platform.

The token sale started on Sept. 12 and was originally scheduled to run until Dec. 10.

While it's unclear how much the project might have already raised, company said it had issued refunds to investors as per the ASIC's requirements.

The project initially gained public attention in August ahead of its public token sale, thanks to an endorsement by well-known cricket player Michael Clarke, who announced his involvement in the project in a tweet at the time.

In today's notice, the company added that "Michael Clarke is no longer associated with Global Tech Exchange."

The news follows a statement from the ASIC last month that it had halted at least five ICOs since April 2018.

The regulator said at the time that certain token sales had been paused for restructuring in order to comply with applicable legal requirements, while others that were deemed possibly deceptive were ordered to halt completely.

At press time, the ASIC had not responded to CoinDesk's request for comment on why it had shut down Global Tech's ICO. According to an ASIC document, the company submitted a voluntary application for de-registration with the agency on Oct. 19.