The U.S. SEC announced Wednesday evening that it will pay $4.6 million in compensation to investors involved in the ICO of Ethereum-based search engine BitClave. “After a notice and claims process, investors will now receive their share of the BitClave Fair Fund.” – the agency reported in X.
During the ICO boom in 2017. BitClave raised $25.5 million from 9,500 investors. The offering was sold out in an impressive 32 seconds. In 2020. BitClave reached a settlement with the SEC and agreed to pay damages after being accused of failing to register its ICO as a securities offering.
As part of the settlement, BitClave agreed to return $25.5 million. It also agreed to pay about $3.4 million in pre-judgment interest and a fine of $400,000. In addition, the company pledged to destroy 1 billion uncirculated CAT tokens and seek to delist them from exchanges.
In addition, the SEC ordered BitClave to establish an Integrity Fund to facilitate the return of these funds to investors. The deadline for investors to file claims was set for August 2023, and notifications on the status of claims were sent in March of this year.
BitClave has pledged to contribute about $29 million to the SEC fund to compensate investors. However, by February 2023. BitClave has provided only $12 million in investor compensation, as described in the SEC’s latest BitClave Fair Fund document.
SEC enforcement actions were not limited to BitClave. Well-known cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase have also faced scrutiny for alleged unregistered securities operations and fraudulent practices, reflecting a broader crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry.
Amid these developments, the cryptocurrency community sees a division. Some industry advocates are pushing for regulations specifically tailored to the unique nature of digital assets, while others support existing SEC regulatory measures.
In a notable shift, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to make the United States a global leader in cryptocurrencies, taking a stance that contrasts sharply with the Biden administration’s strict regulatory approach.
