The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced on Friday that it had settled its charges against two firms involved with initial coin offerings (ICO), a form of fundraising based on cryptocurrencies. The SEC said that the cases represented a precedent when it comes to civil penalties for ICO firms violating the securities offering registration requirements. As a result, CarrierEQ and Paragon Coin, the two targeted firms, agreed to compensate harmed investors and register their tokens as securities as stipulated by the law. The companies will also have to pay penalties and report to the SEC on a regular basis.
The US securities regulator found that CarrierEQ, the operator of Airfox, and Paragon Coin, held their ICOs last year after the SEC released its DAO Report of Investigation, which clearly mentioned that ICO-based tokens might be viewed as securities.
Boston-based Airfox, a startup that raised about $15 million through the sale of its AirToken, planned to use the funds for the development of a blockchain-based, peer-to-peer (P2P) ecosystem fueled by its ERC-20-based token. The project aims to reach the unbanked population in emerging markets.
On Friday, AirToken, which ranked below 800 on Coinmarketcap, added over 48% following the SEC news, but soon lost its gains over the weekend.
Paragon, which released the Paragon Coin (PRG), raised about $12 million to integrate a blockchain platform in the cannabis market and support the legalization of cannabis.
PRG behaved in ...
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