Regulators have had their hands full as of late, dealing with a variety of situations surrounding digital assets. This past week has been chock full of announcements surrounding both newly resolved, and ongoing situations. From settlements to dismissals, the following are a few examples of this regulatory action.
Bancor Suit Dismissed
When first launched, Bancor was one of the most anticipated projects in the world of digital assets. Unfortunately, the project never truly took flight, as it was marred with issues from the get-go. One major hurdle has now been clear though, as a United States Federal Judge has dismissed charges against Bancor, based upon allegations of securities fraud.
The case, which alleged that Bancor sold unregistered securities was dismissed based on two main issues.
- Jurisdiction
- While the plaintiffs were based in the United States, Bancor is based in Switzerland. Furthermore, the plaintiffs purchased tokens through an exchange based in Singapore.
- Burden of Proof
- Plaintiffs failed to provide concrete proof that the alleged securities which were purchased had indeed dropped in value over time.
While at first glance a suit brought forth by two disgruntled investors may not seem hugely important, their success would have set a precedent for others looking to attack Bancor over its past actions surrounding its 2017 ICO.
Long Blockchain
Back in the 2017 crypto-craze, companies new and old saw the sector as a tantalizing option to ‘get-rich-quick’. One such company from this era was Long Island Iced Tea. The company which, as its name would imply, specialized in beverages, decided that it would transition in to a mining firm titled Long Blockchain Corp. The move was greeted with a hearty amount of skepticism at the time, and is now looked back upon as a desperate move to save an ailing company.
This week, the saga surrounding the company appears to have come one step closer to its closure, as the SEC announced the delisting of its shares from exchanges. The move comes after a failure on the part of Long Blockchain to actually make the transition into a mining firm, along with failure to submit required earnings reports.
MoneyGram Distances Itself from Ripple
Ripple cannot catch a break. As a result of the charges being laid on it by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ripple has seen XRP tokens delisted from various exchanges, and past partners distance themselves from the company. The latest of which is Ripples most notorious partner – MoneyGram.
The company specifically noted in its most recent quarterly outlook that the decision to distance itself from Ripple was based on the uncertainty surrounding the active lawsuit.
MoneyGram stated that it, “…is not planning for any benefit from Ripple market development fees in the first quarter. Due to the uncertainty concerning their ongoing litigation with the SEC, the Company has suspended trading on Ripple’s platform.”
This is no doubt a significant blow to Ripple, as the company paid significant sums to attain exposure by having MoneyGram use its platform. These amounts are believed to equal $50.2M in 2020, and $11.3M in 2019.
Tether vs. OAG
Dating back to 2019, there has been genuine fear surrounding digital assets due to the potential ramifications of a lawsuit levied against Tether by the New York State Attorney General Office (OAG). These fears have finally been alleviated, as it was just announced this week that that a settlement has been agreed upon, with the following parameters.
- $18.5 million USD fine
- Service revoked to residents of the State of New York
- Strict auditing and reporting requirements moving forward for 24 months
When compared to the potential fallout this case could have had on the broad digital asset markets, this settlement is a great win.