Manny Pacquiao Involved in the Crypto Market?

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather may have already clashed in their multi-million dollar fight a few years back, but both boxers are still making waves. This time around, it isn’t in the boxing arena but in the cryptocurrency world.

Manny Pacquiao announced that he is going to launch his own cryptocurrency. Global Crypto Offering Exchange (GCOX) is a Singapore-based crypto company wherein Pacquiao along with English Football superstar Michael Owen are investors. According to reports, Manny Pacquiao will launch PAC token later this year.

What Exactly is Pac Token?

PAC Token will be used in order to purchase merchandise sold by the 8 division and former pound for pound boxing great.

Pacquiao mentioned that “It can be a way to be in touch with the fanbase and (there are) a lot of things we can do with this cryptocurrency”.

You may say that the timing for his venture is a bit off considering that governments in different parts of Asia are now clamping down on cryptocurrencies. In fact, government authorities such as India’s RIBI are making it difficult for investors to trade digital currencies.

The worry of many authorities across Asia is the possibility that the digital currencies can be used in illegal activities. It also poses a higher risk compared to other types of investments.

In fact, in the Philippines, there are already proposed legislation that would impose harsh penalties for crimes that involve cryptocurrencies. However, Pacquiao, who is a Senator in the Philippines, view that cryptocurrencies should be regulated. He mentioned that “It is already regulated in other countries.

Following Floyd Mayweather’s Steps?

Floyd Mayweather endorsed the cryptocurrency firm, Centra, and was able to raise $32 million via initial coin offering or ICO. However, the US Securities and Exchange Commission already charged an additional founder of Centra with fraud.

Raymond Trapani, who is Centra’s co-founder of Centra was added to the April complaint that already implicated two other founders of the company.

In a statement by Robert A. Cohen, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Cyber Unit, “We allege that the Centra co-founders went to great lengths to create the false impression that they had developed a viable, cutting-edge technology”. He added that “Investors should exercise caution about investments in digital assets, especially when they are marketed with claims that seem too good to be true”.

Aside from Floyd Mayweather who posed with a Centra Card in September, DJ Khaled is another endorser of the company.

The mistake that Centra made is to make false claims that they have a business relationship with credit card companies including both Visa and Mastercard. They also published fictional executive bios and even misrepresented the viability of what the company offers to its investors. In fact, it was reported that Trapani and Sohrab “Sam” Sharma who is another co-founder of Centra allegedly propped up the price of CTR Tokens.

Could Floyd Mayweather be implicated by the SEC for promoting Centra? And how about Manny Pacquiao? Is this a smart move in case the company he invested in experience the same fate as that of Centra?