Category: ICOs

US Man Sentenced to Prison for Embezzling $20M of ICO Investors’ Funds

San Francisco-based Jerry Guo represented himself to clients as an ICO consultant, then embezzled funds now worth over $20 million.

January 27, 2021
Should ICO project founders be held criminally liable for withholding information?

There are some exciting things going on in the crypto start-up space. With cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin gaining traction around the world, and with blockchains like Ethereum gaining greater usage, start-up founders are seeing new opportunities to innovate. These start-ups are creating new currencies, digitizing and tokenizing assets like real estate and contracts, tackling the remittance…

December 8, 2020
Kik, SEC Propose $5M Settlement Over $100M ICO, Ending Yearlong Battle

Kik will pay $5 million in penalties as part of a proposed settlement with the SEC, which sued the messaging app last year.

October 20, 2020
Filecoin (FIL) price soars following mainnet launch; reaches $900m market cap

Filecoin’s mainnet launch has long been highly anticipated, with a plethora of retail and venture capital pouring into the cryptocurrency’s 2017 initial coin offering, which raised over $205 million. The mainnet launch of the decentralized data and information storage blockchain has been plagued by multiple delays, but finally started coming to fruition in late-September when…

October 15, 2020
The 2017 crypto ICO that raised $200m in 60 minutes is finally launching

Those that were around in 2017 and 2018 likely remember the name Filecoin. Launched in late 2017, the protocol was branded as a payment system that would use blockchain technology to store and retrieve data. As esoteric as it may sound, the concept gained much traction in the crypto-asset space. It garnered so much traction,…

October 15, 2020
SEC Commissioner Peirce Weighs in Defi Token Regulation Debate: Panel Predicts Defi Will Self Correct in Twelve Months

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner, Hester Peirce says while defi tokens carry some equity-like benefits, she believes that giving something away is distinct from selling something. As a result of this lack of clarity, Peirce says questions about the regulatory structure and how these tokens could affect corporate governance will continue to linger. Speaking…

October 8, 2020
Over 15% of ETH Supply Locked in Smart Contracts, BTC Dominance Declining

The rapid growth of decentralized finance (defi) protocols is contributing to the increasing proportion of ETH supply that is now locked in smart contracts. More than 15% of the total ETH supply is now locked, compared to 11.5% from a year ago. This growth led to the inevitable decline of BTC dominance. According to a…

September 16, 2020
Crypto Esports Startup Unikrn to Pay $6.1M in SEC Settlement Over 2017 ICO

Unikrn has agreed to settle the charges, without admitting or denying them, by paying a $6.1 million penalty to be distributed among investors.

September 15, 2020
SEC Charges Rapper TI With Securities Violations for Promoting 2017 ICO

The SEC alleged film producer Ryan Felton misappropriated funds from two separate initial coin offerings, and charged rapper TI with boosting one of them.

September 11, 2020
Tezos Investors Win $25M Settlement in Court Case Over $230M ICO

A U.S. lawsuit that alleged the Tezos ICO was an unregistered securities sale has been settled for $25 million.

September 1, 2020