SEC charges digital platform for unregistered ICO

Securities Digital Assets SEC Initial Coin Offerings Virtual Currency

On September 18, the SEC announced it filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against a digital platform and its owner (collectively, “defendants”) for raising over $14 million in an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 and for acting as unregistered brokers for other digital asset offerings in violation of Section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC contends the defendants claimed to investors that their tokens would increase in value upon trading and that ICO token holders would be able to swap them for other tokens on the platform, at an average of a 75 percent discount. The SEC notes that the tokens had experienced “a precipitous loss in value” since issuance, averaging roughly 1/20th of the average purchase price during the offering. Moreover, the SEC alleges the defendants acted as a broker for other ICOs, raising over $650 million for their clients. The SEC’s suit seeks a permanent injunction, disgorgement of profits plus interest, and civil penalties.