Block.one Announces Settlement with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Block.one has reached a civil settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in connection with the company's sale of an ERC-20 token between June 26, 2017 and June 1, 2018. Under the settlement, Block.one will pay a one-time fine of US$24 million, whilst neither admitting nor denying the SEC's findings.

The settlement relates specifically to the ERC-20 token sold on the Ethereum blockchain during the aforementioned period, which is no longer in circulation or traded, and will not require the token to be registered as a security with the SEC. The settlement resolves all ongoing matters between Block.one and the SEC.

The SEC has simultaneously granted Block.one an important waiver so that Block.one will not be subject to certain ongoing restrictions that would usually apply with settlements of this type. Block.one believes the SEC's granting of this waiver evidences Block.one's continuing commitment to compliance and best practices in the United States and globally.

The company issued the following statement regarding the announcement:

"We are excited to resolve these discussions with the SEC and are committed to ongoing collaboration with regulators and policy makers as the world continues to develop more clarity around compliance frameworks for digital assets.

The extraordinary success story of America is in part built upon its rich history of supporting entrepreneurship and emerging technologies, and we encourage and applaud the efforts of entrepreneurs and leaders from tech, finance, and other industries who are striving to make the U.S. an environment where technology can advance and thrive in a predictable and inclusive way.

Blockchain's ability to better align organizations with their consumers, increase the transparency of critical database infrastructure, and better distribute value and wealth throughout society remains our company's focus, and we will continue to fight for the development of our industry to achieve as much alignment around policy and best practices as possible.

As always, we are humbled by, and thankful for, the community support that enables everything we do."

About Block.one

Block.one is a global software company specializing in high-performance blockchain software. In 2018, it published EOSIO, a free, open-source protocol designed to bring speed, scalability, and ease-of-use to the secure and transparent fundamentals of distributed databases. Block.one's venture capital arm, EOS VC, invests in companies, projects, and developers around the world leveraging EOSIO technology.