Tezos Investors Win $25M Settlement in Court Case Over $230M ICO
Tezos co-founder Kathleen Breitman (Brady Dale for CoinDesk)
A long-running lawsuit alleging the Tezos initial coin offering (ICO) – that raised $232 million in 2017 – was an unregistered securities sale has been settled.
- The Swiss-based Tezos Foundation, as well as the project’s founders, Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, agreed Friday to pay $25 million in cash to settle the case.
- The presiding judge ratified the settlement agreement – which was first proposed in March – the same day.
- The complaint, a class action for those who invested in the Tezos ICO, alleged defendants violated U.S. securities law by hosting an unregistered sale.
- Allegations were first brought against the Tezos Foundation in late 2017 – months after the ICO concluded.
- Crucially, the settlement means the court has not ruled on whether the Tezos ICO was an unregistered securities sale.
- In a separate filing, lead plaintiff Trigon Trading argued settlement actually saved both parties, and the court, much work determining the regulatory status of token offerings, like Tezos, and whether they counted as securities sales.
- Per Friday’s order, the plaintiff’s attorneys will take more than $8.5 million, a third of the total settlement, in fees and expenses.
- Save small awards to the lead plaintiff, Trigon Trading, and other key figures, the remaining $16.5 million will be divided between those who invested in the Tezos ICO and made a monetary loss.
- Those who gained from their investment, through selling at a profit or staking (dubbed “baking”) their XTZ tokens will not be able to claim damages.
- Trigon described the $25 million settlement as an “excellent result” for Tezos investors.
Read the order here:
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