Digital Assets
Block.one Settles Second Lawsuit Stemming from Past ICO
A resolution to a longstanding lawsuit between the Crypto Assets Opportunity Fund (CAOF) and Block.one has finally been reached, which will see Block.one on the hook for $27.5M.
The aforementioned settlement stems from an ICO, which ran between June 2017 and June 2018. This event, which was controversial at the time due to its extended run-period, successfully generated over $4B for Block.one.
Although Block.one may have been successful in convincing investors to hand over their hard-earned funds, both the SEC and CAOF were not as impressed – each of which alleged the ICO constituted the illegal offering of unregistered securities.
While a settlement may have been reached, Block.one has remained steadfast in its innocence. Rather, the settlement was reached as a means of finally putting its past behind it, so that it could look forwards instead.
The company states that, “Block.one believes this lawsuit was without merit and filled with numerous inaccuracies. However, accepting this settlement allows us to focus more time and energy on running our business and delivering new products.”
Block.one did not elaborate on what these inaccuracies were, however they did allude to a productive future with new products on the way.
A Growing Tally
Notably, this settlement is the second of its kind to stem from Block.one’s ICO. This first occurred roughly two years ago when the Securities and Exchange Comission (SEC) targeted Block.one due to the ICO.
Not only was a settlement reached in both instances, but the agreed upon figures were quite similar – the SEC received $24M while the CAOF received $27.5M.
Cumutively Block.one has paid a total of $51.5M in settlement fees to date. While this may be a lofty total, it is a ‘drop in the bucket’ when compared to the $4B that the company was able to raise.
Settlements Preferred
Over the past few years, there have been many lawsuits levied against companies which took part in ill-thought out ICOs, and similar actions. Interesting, it seems as though all parties involved seem to prefer opting for settlements as opposed to seeing the lawsuits through. The following are a few other examples of settlements reached between the SEC and other blockchain related companies from years past.
