BitClave Reaches Settlement with SEC over 2017 $25M ICO

This week, BitClave PTE Ltd. reached a settlement with SEC regulators. As part of the agreement, the company must return funds acquired in its 2017 ICO in which the firm secured $25 million. The news showcases further SEC interdiction into the crypto sector. Additionally, it demonstrates some long-awaited relief for the BitClave project.

According to the SEC filing, BitClave violated US securities regulations when they hosted the event. Specifically, regulators charged that the Consumer Activity Tokens (CAT) received by investors were, in actuality, unlicensed securities. Importantly, the firm's ICO saw investment from over 9,5000 international participants.

Discussing the ruling, Kristina Littman, the SEC Enforcement Division’s Cyber Unit Chief shed some light on regulators' thought-process during the trial. She explained that the ruling provides relief to any investors who felt shaded by the company. Additionally, she touched on the overall goal of the new SEC campaign. Littman stated that the SEC must ensure that all issuers of securities, traditional or digital, comply with Federal registration requirements.

BitClave Project

The BitClave platform aims to develop a decentralized search ecosystem. Developers seek to create, administer, and market a blockchain-based search platform for targeted consumer advertising. Importantly, BitClave introduces some truly unique features to the market.

For example, BitClave users can decide who gets access to their personal data. Additionally, they receive a payment in the form of tokens for sharing this information. In this manner, users receive welcomed advertisements. Best of all, companies know their advertising efforts only go towards people interested in their products or services.

BitClave Success

From the start, BitClave saw immediate success upon entering the market. The firm secured $22 million of its $25 million ICO goal in a mere 32 seconds. Impressively, the platform already had 64,000 registered users. Importantly, these investors received Consumer Activity Tokens (CAT) for their participation.

BitClave Reaches Settlement with SEC

The company distributed 550,842,000 CAT tokens during the event. The total supply of CAT Tokens is set at 2 billion. Interestingly, developers kept the unissued tokens locked up in a smart contract. These tokens are to release at a later date to hep supplement growth in the platform.

At the time, BitClave's founder and CEO, Alex Bessonov, called the results “spectacular.” He praised the community for their early support on the project, and he described some of the future releases scheduled on the firm's roadmap. Now, given the SEC ruling, these promises could see the market.

SEC Racks Up Wins

The ruling follows a string of SEC victories. Just this week, the messaging giant, Telegram withdrew its TON blockchain filing due to pushback from regulators. Specifically, the project hit major snags after a federal judge ruled that the company couldn't issue GRAM tokens to investors. Telegram appealed the decision and asked for permission to issue tokens to non-US investors. The SEC denied the appeal shortly after its filing.

BitClave – What the Future Holds

Despite the ruling, BitClave appears to be in good faith. The platform issued a statement celebrating the end of the long trial. Now, BitClave is free to pursue its goal to provide internet users with the tools to regain control of their data.