SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 21, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is alerting crowdfund investors to the Tezos class action and the firm’s investigation into recovering the bitcoins (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) or other consideration paid in the Tezos Initial Coin Offering (“ICO”). The SEC recently determined that those who engage in distributed ledger or blockchain-enabled means for raising capital tokens must take appropriate steps to ensure compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws. The “Tezzies” or “XTZ” token offering strongly resembles an offering of securities subject to the securities laws. The Tezos ICO is now subject to two securities class action lawsuits pending in the California Superior Court for the County of San Francisco and in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida with claims for securities law violations.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired the right to purchase TEZOS currency in the July 2017 offering or crowdsale contact Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP. For more information visit:
https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/XTZ
or contact Reed Kathrein, who is leading the firm’s investigation, by calling 510-725-3000 or emailing
Capitalizing on the recent enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies, the Tezos founders collected over $232 million worth of bitcoin and Ethereum from investors. Meanwhile, both bitcoin and Ethereum have seen significant gains since July. Even a timely delivery of the tokens investors paid for would have saved investors a significant amount of funds. Instead, the Tezos project has stalled, and it’s now unclear that the investors will receive their Tezzies or XTZ any time soon, as Tezos founders and Dynamic Ledger Solutions, Inc. (DLS) are now engaged in a public fight for control over the Tezos Foundation, a Swiss foundation.
Moreover, when the SEC announced that DAO tokens are securities within the meaning of the federal securities laws, and that DAO’s or other distributed ledger or blockchain-enabled means for capital raising must comply with the U.S. federal securities laws, and that such tokens must be registered with the SEC or qualify for an exemption in July 2017, Defendants were put on notice that they had to comply with the securities laws, including, for instance, registering the Tezos tokens with the SEC as required. Nonetheless, during July 2017, Defendants conducted the Tezos ICO and sold over 607 million unregistered Tezzies to the public in exchange for digital currency worth approximately $232 million at the time.
“Tezos investors have sustained significant damages by investing in the ICO. Not only did the Defendants disregard the SEC’s registration requirements but the delay in the launch of Tezos token has forced investors to helplessly watch as their funds are tied up by people skirting the law,” said Hagens Berman partner Reed Kathrein.
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding the Tezos ICO should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 510-725-3000 or email XTZ@hbsslaw.com.
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Contact:
Reed Kathrein, 510-725-3000