30/08/2023 The SEC brings its first NFT enforcement action

Illustration of a museum frame with a crypto block in it falling off a wall and tipping over forward.

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

U.S. regulators continue to hammercryptofirms with enforcement actions, the latest of which dragsNFTsinto the mix.

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Driving the news: The Securities and Exchange Commission on Mondaysued Los Angeles-based podcasting firm Impact Theory for allegedly offering securities in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), raising more than $30 million through sales in late 2021.

Background:Impact Theory offered 20,000 NFTs at three levels of rarity ina 2021 offering. The tokens gave buyers "levels" of access to things the company would create, such as to discounts and events.

  • Of note: Impact Theory is not really an NFT company, rather it appears to be a bare-bones entertainment shop centered around entrepreneur Tom Bilyeu.

The intrigue: The SEC's action Monday comes in spite of the company's attempt to remedy the allegations, repurchasing the NFTs, calledFounder's Keys, in the months following the sales, and returning roughly $7.7 million worth of ETH.

What they're saying: Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, Impact agreed to destroy the NFTs in question and pay combined penalties of more than $6 million.

What others are saying: SEC commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyedadissentedin the enforcement action, explaining they disagreed, in part, with the application of theHowey analysis.

Arts

https://www.axios.com/2023/08/28/sec-nft-podcasting-impact-theory

Interesting NFTs
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#51442
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