Crypto project charged with a $250,000 fine for holding an unregistered ICO

The US SEC still remains convinced that the majority of digital currencies that have emerged in recent years are securities. This way of looking at things continues to drive the regulator towards every crypto project that held its ICO in 2017.

The SEC’s latest target is a project known as Blockchain of Things, which was ordered to pay a fine of $250,000, return the raised funds to its original investors, and make an effort to inform its investors of any changes to the project. The crypto startup’s officials accepted these terms, and have agreed to return the amount they raised.

Of course, they are obligated to announce that they will be returning funds to any investor who contacts the firm and requests their money back. The company’s ICO, held in 2017, managed to raise $13 million. The firm allegedly moved on with the ICO even after it was warned that its tokens would be considered securities.

Less than $1 million was sold to US investors during ICO

The tokens were offered to the US and foreign investors alike, where the company raised around $600,000 from US investors. Over $12 million came from international token buyers, although they were still allowed to sell their tokens to traders from the US. In other words, there is no way to assess how many of the coins are currently owned by US users.

As for the startup itself, its goal is to create a blockchain-based platform and allow developers to create their own dApps, including apps for message logging and transmission, digital asset generation and transfer, and more. Due to the SEC’s ruling, the company will now have to register its tokens as securities. Further, it will have to ensure that they are regulatory compliant and to increase transparency going forward.