Blockchain company Block.one has reached a civil settlement agreement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to a year-long unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) it held through 2017 and 2018.
The settlement relates specifically to the ERC-20 tokens that Block.one sold on the Ethereum blockchain between 26 June 2017 and 1 June 2018. The SEC said the unregistered ICO raised the equivalent of around 4 billion dollars.
SEC and Block.one Settle Charges
In a statement, Block.one said it would pay a $24 million fine while neither admitting nor denying the SEC’s findings — representing around 0.6% of the total amount raised through the ICO. The main reason behind the SEC’s case filing was that Block.on did not provide ICO investors with the information necessary in a securities offering. While $24 million might seem like a lot, it is a minor inconvenience for Block.one which raised $4 billion.![SEC](https://beincrypto.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/shutterstock_500014633-1024x683.jpg.optimal.jpg)
Cheaper Than a Website
On a further controversial note, Block.one even made investment purchases with higher amounts than the SEC’s fine. Earlier this year, Block.one set out to build a decentralized social network, and in the process bought the website Voice for $30 million.With this settlement between the SEC and Block.one, the company is guaranteed that EOS won’t have to contend with regulators trying to classify it as a security offering. This also makes way for EOS to be traded on U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges without any additional repercussions. This can become a cornerstone case, as blockchain and ICO projects can see that the path taken by Block.one might not be as cumbersome as registering and filing for a securities offering, like in the case of Blockstack. Earlier this year, Blockstack became the first blockchain company that filed with the SEC under Regulation A+. During its token offering, the company managed to raise $23 million, while the costs of going the official route with the SEC were estimated at around $2 million. What do you make of the settlement agreement between Block.one and the SEC? Share your opinion in the comments below!To demonstrate how ridiculous this $24M fine is, EOS issuer paid $6M more on a fucking website this year. The SEC's fine was a smaller sting for them than buying https://t.co/MfhS1HUayR.
— Larry Cermak (@lawmaster) October 1, 2019
Image courtesy of Shutterstock, Twitter
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Christian Gundiuc
After finishing his studies in International Business Administration at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Christian started working at a real estate development company. Upon discovering Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency space, he switched his focus to learn, analyze and write about all things digital.
After finishing his studies in International Business Administration at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, Christian started working at a real estate development company. Upon discovering Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency space, he switched his focus to learn, analyze and write about all things digital.
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