The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on November 20 that it has paid out $4.6 million in restitution to investors affected by the 2017 ICO of BitClave, an Ethereum-based search engine. This payout is part of a settlement the company reached with the SEC in 2020 after being charged fees for failing to register its ICO as a securities offering.
On social media, the official message from the SEC wrote: “The checks have been sent by mail. We’re sending more than $4.6 million to investors harmed by BitClave, PTE Ltd.’s unregistered digital asset ICO. Following a notification and claims process, investors will now receive their share of the BitClave Fair Fund.”
BitClave’s 2017 ICO raised $25.5 million in just 32 seconds, attracting thousands of investors. In 2020, the SEC under then-SEC Chairman Jay Clayton sued BitClave, alleging that the sale of its Consumer Activity Token (CAT) violated federal securities laws.
While BitClave did not admit to any wrongdoing, it agreed to forfeit the money raised in the ICO, pay an additional $4 million in fines and interest, and destroy unsold CAT tokens. The company also requested that exchanges delist the token as part of the settlement.
XRP users have expressed their frustration and asked when it will be their turn for compensation. For those unfamiliar, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple in 2020, and the case is still ongoing. Many experts believe that the lawsuit contributed to a significant drop in the price of XRP. However, XRP is now trading above the $1 mark, thanks in large part to the support of pro-crypto President-elect Trump, who has promised to fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on his first day in office, offering hope to the XRP community.
