The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against Thor Technologies and its cofounder and CEO David Chin in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Dec. 21. The SEC claimed that Thor’s 2018 initial coin offering (ICO) constituted an unregistered securities sale 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 Thor (THOR) coin. About 200 of the 1,600 investors lived in the United States. Not all of them were accredited investors. The SEC claimed in the suit that the sale of constituted a securities sale.
The complaint stated that Thor claimed it would “develop a software platform for ‘gig economy’ companies and workers,” although that platform was never completed. The SEC continued:
“Thor marketed the Thor Tokens to investors who reasonably viewed the Thor Tokens as an investment vehicle that might appreciate in value based on Thor’s and Chin’s managerial and entrepreneurial efforts in developing the gig economy software platform.”
The tokens had no practical use at the time of the offering, according to the SEC. The business closed in 2019 after it “was not able 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 provide “gig economy” services. The business should not be confused with the Thor blockchain.
Related: 2017 ICOs aren’t over yet: SEC files suit against Dragonchain and its founder
Thor Technologies is the latest in several cases with similar charges the SEC has brought against crypto operators. The agency announced in June that it was looking into Binance’s 2017 ICO. LBRY stated at the beginning of December that its loss to the SEC on charges of unregistered security sales would likely lead to its closure. The highest-profile case of this type currently is the SEC’s suit 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 cofounder and one-time chief technology officer Matthew Moravec, who has since left the company, has settled with the SEC and agreed to injunctions and monetary penalties, the agency announced in a statement.