More red flags, unfortunately. See that big "regulated by FINMA" logo on their site?
https://utrust.ioOf course they're "regulated" by the FINMA, because they're active in Switzerland.
Their presentation suggests that they're actively working with them though.
Well, now I contacted the FINMA, and while their reply wasn't 100% conclusive, they literally said that "UTRUST doesn't have a direct FINMA authorisation for activities in the financial sector and are not a member of the SRO*" and that they will investigate this. Their complete reply actually sounds like they didn't hear about UTRUST until today.
If you don't believe me, feel free to contact them yourselves:
https://www.finma.ch/en/news/2017/09/20170929-mm-ico/I got a reply from
[email protected], so you might as well use that address. Please remember that you're dealing with a major financial regulation authority here, so try not to sound like you're a mad 14yo if you do.
While it's possible that they didn't get in contact with the FINMA yet because they're not yet doing active business in the financial sector, you'd expect them to have clearance for the ICO ahead of its start. And like somebody else already said, no matter if it's a positive signal for investors, I'm pretty sure you can't just change the conditions of the capital raising procedure at will while it's already running.
Possibly the case officer just didn't have the information required yet, or there's some other valid explanation. Until there's a clear statement on this, this is a major red flag for me though.
At least this is very dishonest marketing. But we already know they're paying people to shill in this thread and all over social media, so I wouldn't really be surprised.
*
https://www.finma.ch/en/authorisation/self-regulatory-organisations-sros/