From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned Nigerians against investing in Punisher Coin, also known by its symbol $PUN, citing concerns over its unauthorized presale and lack of regulatory approval.
In a statement issued over the weekend, the Commission disclosed that the promoters of Punisher Coin are not registered to operate within the Nigerian capital market and have not been vetted by the regulatory body.
“The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been drawn to several online publications blatantly advertising unauthorised presale of Cryptocoin termed“PUNISHER COIN” aka “$PUN”.
“The Commission hereby informs the public that neither “PUNISHER COIN” aka“$PUN” nor its promoters have been vetted nor registered by the Commission to either promote, launch, sale, trade or solicit investments from the Nigerian public”.
The SEC emphasised that neither the coin nor its promoters have received approval to promote, launch, sell, trade, or solicit investments from the Nigerian public.
According to the Commission, preliminary findings show that Punisher Coin is classified as a “meme coin”, a category of digital assets that generally lack intrinsic value, practical utility, or a tangible project backing them.
“Further investigation has revealed that Punisher coin or $PUN is a Meme coin. Meme coins generally have no use case, intrinsic value or tangible projects backing them. Any attributed value to meme coin is usually linked to its promoters or the community effort which most often than not are susceptible to pump and dump schemes (a form of fraudulent activity that involves promoters spreading false or misleading information to create a buying frenzy that “pumps” up the price of a ‘coin’ and then “dumps” the coin by selling their own coins at the inflated price. Once the promoters dump their coins and stop hyping the coin, the coin price typically falls and investors lose money)” The SEC stated.
The SEC highlighted that the value of such coins is often driven by hype and social media buzz, making them vulnerable to market manipulation through schemes commonly known as pump and the SEC explained that these schemes involve promoters inflating the price of the coin through misleading claims, only to sell their holdings at the peak, leaving other investors exposed to significant losses when the hype fade dump.
The Commission strongly advised the public to avoid participating in the ongoing presale of Punisher Coin, warning that anyone who does so is acting at their own risk.