Crypto gambling firm Unikrn pays $6 million fine for illegal ICO
U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a Seattle-based crypto eSports and gambling platform Unikrn for conducting an ‘unregistered’ initial coin offering( ICO) in 2017, which is a violation of the U.S registration laws. According to the release, Unikrn will reportedly pay a $6 million fine and also distribute its assets to injured investors through a Fair Fund.
The SEC alleged that Unikrn raised approximately $31 million through its sale of its UnikoinGold (UKG) token which Unikrn claimed that it would use the proceeds from the ICO to improve its gaming platform and to develop additional applications for the UKG tokens.
However, in addition to this charge, the SEC has ordered Unikrn to prevent future sales of its token other retail investors by disabling the UKG token from all exchanges. Per the release, the Esports platform complied with the order.
Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Cyber Unit, Kristina Littman, said that the SEC would distribute all of Unikrn’s assets to investors who were promised to receive the returns from the eSports betting company.
The Esports betting company had grabbed headlines last year after American entrepreneur Marc Cuban and celebrity Ashton Kutcher reportedly invested nearly $10 million in Unkirn.
