The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against Thor Technologies and its co-founder and CEO, David Chin, in the San Francisco District Court on December 21. The SEC alleged that Thor’s 2018 initial coin offering (ICO) constituted an unregistered sale of securities under the Securities Act of 1933.
Thor Technologies raised $2.6 million from 1,600 investors between March and May 2018 through the sale of its coin Thor (THOR). About 200 of the 1,600 investors lived in the United States. Not all of them were accredited investors. The SEC alleged in the lawsuit that the sale of constituted a sale of securities.
The lawsuit claimed that Thor claimed that “would develop a software platform for companies and workers in the ‘gig economy'”, although said platform was never completed. The SEC continued:
“Thor marketed Thor Tokens to investors who reasonably viewed Thor Tokens as an investment vehicle that could appreciate in value based on Thor and Chin’s management and business efforts in developing the temp software platform and projects punctual.”
The tokens had no practical use at the time of the offering, according to the SEC. The business closed in 2019 after “failing to gain traction and achieve commercial success.” According to Chin’s LinkedIn profile, Thor Technologies now produces the Odin software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform and mobile app, which also offer “gig economy” services. The company should not be confused with the Thor blockchain.
Thor Technologies is the latest of several cases with similar charges that the SEC has filed against cryptocurrency traders. The agency announced in June that it was investigating the 2017 Binance ICO. LBRY stated in early December that its loss to the SEC on unregistered security sales charges would likely lead to its closure. The most high-profile case of this type today is the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple.
Our CEO Mayande Walker discusses the blockchain *live* with John Paller CEO and Founder, @EthereumDenver and @opolisproject, and David Chin CEO, Thor Technologies @gothortech *today* Wednesday, January 9th at 2pm EST. Details: https://t.co/n2Pw7DWHk0 … #blockchain #telecom #chat pic.twitter.com/1vJJ2mHFJg
—OpenCT (@OpenCryptoTrust) January 9, 2019
Thor co-founder and one-time CTO Matthew Moravec, who has since left the company, has settled with the SEC and accepted injunctive relief and monetary penalties, the agency announced in a statement.
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