The Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) has taken emergency action against cloud mining business firm Ultra BTC Mining for issuing unregistered securities.

The emergency cease-and-desist social club was jointly filed against Ultra Mining by the TSSB and the Alabama Securities Committee on April 8. The securities regulators defendant Ultra Mining of registration violations, fraud, failures to disembalm key information relating to its operations, and misleading or deceptive statements.

The regulators allege Ultra BTC Mining and its amanuensis Laura Branch were running a "recession special" to prey on economically vulnerable Texans and had refused to verify a claimed $100,000 donation to assistance UNICEF purchase medical equipment for coronavirus relief. The TSSB referred to the supposed donation as "fraudulent".

$18 million raised in Texas

Ultra offers two-year contracts for rented hash power priced at $40 per 0.1 terahashes per second (Thursday/s), with the firm claiming that investors tin reap a 105% annual return. In a media release the TSSB said:

"The visitor is promising eye-opening returns. According to the society, they are telling potential investors that a $ten,000 investment in computing power volition return nearly $10,500 per year. A $50,000 investment will return nearly $52,000 per twelvemonth."

Despite the cloud mining firm claiming to have raised $18 million from Texas residents, the TSSB asserts that Ultra has not registered its offering.

The complaint takes aim at Ultra Mining for offering a 30% hash power bonus on $10,000 investments amidst economic "hard times," and for touting the findings of a recent survey that predicts the price of Bitcoin (BTC) will reach near $23,000 past 2022.

Promoted past YouTubers

Ultra has a "Partner Program" for YouTube content creators incentivized with free hash power, and an chapter plan offering commissions of upward to 20% of deposits from referred investors.

The cloud mining firm has 31 days to claiming the TSSB guild if it wishes.