SEC Orders Salt Lending to Offer Refunds to Investors in Its $47M ICO

The SEC has confirmed it is taking action against SALT Lending after ruling the company's $47 million ICO was an illegal securities issuance.

AccessTimeIconSep 30, 2020 at 2:42 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 10:02 a.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

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, that it would have to begin the process of offering refunds to investors.
  • It will have 14 days to issue a press release, announcing the order, on its website.
  • 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 after the filing of a registration statement to submit a claim to Salt, which 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.

EDIT (Sept. 30, 16:50 UTC): This article has been updated to specify that the SEC is ordering Salt Lending to offer investors refunds, rather than issue refunds directly.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.