The top U.S. financial watchdog has ordered Salt Lending to offer investors refunds for its 2017 initial coin offering (ICO).
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) told Salt Blockchain Inc., the owner of the lending platform that offers dollar-denominated loans collateralized by cryptocurrencies, it had 14 days to begin the process of offering refunds to investors.
In a public letter, the SEC said Salt's ICO violated securities regulations by not registering the sale beforehand.
The SEC said the token counted as a security because Salt told investors they could expect to make a return on their investment.
Investors will have three months to submit a claim to Salt, who will be obligated to pay back their investment along with any agreed interest.
Salt has agreed to settle the action and will pay a $250,000 civil penalty to the Commission in the next 10 days.
The lending platform has also agreed to register its SALT tokens – currently trading at $0.05 – as securities with the SEC.
The settlement means Salt will not have to agree or deny the Commission's findings.
https://www.coindesk.com/sec-orders-salt-lending-to-refund-investors-in-its-50m-ico?amp=1
