(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s insurance commissioner says a cryptocurrency company will pay a 943-thousand dollar fine to the State of Iowa for selling unregistered securities and misrepresenting the level of risk associated with its product. BlockFi Lending has offered interest-bearing accounts to customers with cryptocurrency, promising to make variable interest payments each month. Two and a half years ago, BlockFi and its affiliates held about 267-thousand dollars worth of crypto from Iowans. By the end of 2021, that had ballooned to 14-point-six million. The company was accused of selling securities in Iowa without being registered as a broker-dealer or agent.

The Iowa Insurance Commissioner’s announcement is part of a joint investigation by a federal agency and state regulators. BlockFi has agreed to pay 50 million dollars to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Iowa’s insurance commission says the company is paying another 50 million dollars to 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

BlockFi agreed to the 100 million dollar settlement without admitting or denying the S-E-C’s allegations.