SEC files suit against Dragonchain over $16.5 million ICO

The Securities and Exchange Commission has hit yet another 2017 initial coin offering with legal action.

On August 16, the SEC filed a complaint against several business entities surrounding Dragonchain and founder John Joseph Roets over their presale and initial coin offering, which netted $16.5 million at the time.

The commission is calling the ICO an unregistered securities offering and is demanding disgorgement of the proceeds as well as a civil monetary penalty. 

The presale took place in 2017, immediately after the SEC’s July DAO Report. The report was a watershed moment, following which the SEC would treat future ICOs as potential securities offerings. 

Five years later, the SEC is still pursuing litigation against some of these offerers, as well as a number of undisclosed paid promoters.