Crypto firm that raised $12.7M with ICO admits it ran out of money, closes doors

A cryptocurrency startup that settled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its illegal token sale has shut down.

Washington-based Gladius Network said last week that it had “ceased operations effective immediately and has filed for dissolution.”

“Despite our best efforts, the company no longer has funds to continue operations. Our code will remain available on GitHub for the next three months. We still believe in the power of our technology, and if anyone in the community is interested in pursuing it we welcome it,” the company added.

Gladius Network, which helped clients fight off cyberattacks, agreed to refund investors in its digital token sale after the SEC said the company failed to advise them about potential business risks.

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The company raised $12.7 million (around 24,000 ETH) through its initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017.

As part of its settlement with SEC, Gladius Network was required to submit a registration statement by May 20, 2019. However, the deadline was then extended to November 18. It’s not known whether the business actually filed the statement before shutting down.

It was also supposed to refund investors who participated in the $12.7 million sale.

However, a Telegram group filled with those claiming to be spurned investors has emerged, with many unsure about the status of their rightful refunds.

Hard Fork has reached out to one of Gladius’ co-founders to ask whether investors have in fact been refunded or whether there are plans to. We’ll update the piece accordingly if we hear back.