tl;dr
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has closed a three-year investigation into Hiro Systems, a blockchain software developer that raised $70 million in token sales from 2017 to 2019. The SEC stated that it does not intend to recommend an enforcement action against Hiro Systems. This comes af...
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has closed a three-year investigation into Hiro Systems, a blockchain software developer that raised $70 million in token sales from 2017 to 2019. The SEC stated that it does not intend to recommend an enforcement action against Hiro Systems, formerly known as Blockstack.
The investigation included the Stacks protocol, not just the Hiro entity. The company initially treated tokens as securities and launched a new version of Stacks in January 2021, claiming full decentralization, which the SEC was skeptical of. However, the Friday filing marks the conclusion of the inquiry.
It's another win for the crypto industry following the recent news of the SEC ending an investigation into stablecoin issuer Paxos. Hiro, which makes tools for developers to build apps on Stacks, is the brainchild of crypto industry veteran Muneeb Ali. The company's journey from treating tokens as securities to claiming full decentralization culminated in the SEC dropping the three-year-old investigation.
In 2018, Hiro, then known as Blockstack, launched the first version of the Stacks chain with its eponymous token (STX) and treated the tokens it sold as securities. However, with the launch of a new version of Stacks in January 2021 and a new consensus mechanism (proof of transfer), Hiro believed the network had become sufficiently decentralized to no longer require the tokens to be treated as securities. The SEC's skepticism led to an inquiry in September 2021, which has now come to a close with the recent filing.
This development marks a significant moment in the ongoing relationship between the crypto industry and regulators, as the SEC's decision regarding Hiro Systems' token sales sets an important precedent for future projects navigating regulatory compliance.
More about Seagate Technology PLC
Seagate Technology PLC Summary Seagate Technology Holdings plc, an Irish public limited company (commonly referred to as Seagate) is an American data storage company.
Sector: Technology
Industry: Computer Storage Devices
Market Cap: 22.28B
PE Ratio: 2.8
EPS: -1.31
Stock Price: $30.05
Change: -4.31%
Volume: 6,266,000
52-Week High: $100.39
52-Week Low: $0.939
Dividend Yield: -0.11