VC Invictus Hyperion Sues Menlo One Token for Value Inflation

Crypto investment firm Invictus Hyperion has filed a lawsuit against Menlo Inc., a Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term company, for artificially inflating its token value to boost its $3 million token sale.

According to the legal complaint filed on Monday Invictus accused the blockchain company of misrepresenting its products, leading to an investment of $250,000, which the investment company could not recover at this stage.

“Defendants pocketed large sums of money for their promotional efforts, and — due to their many misrepresentations, factual omissions, and unlawful action — [Invictus Hyperion] will not see any return on its investment,” a part of the complaint noted.

After its initial coin offering (ICO) in November last year, the value of the token plummeted by more than 94 percent and is currently trading at $0.000467 apiece, as seen on Coinmarketcap.com.

Focus on marketing instead of developing

The investor also accused the blockchain company of not coming out with any viable products, instead, it claims the firm is putting its efforts in marketing with “buzzwords.”

“The Defendants, as insiders, enriched themselves at the expense of their investors.” Invictus Hyperion mentioned in the complaint.

Unregistered security?

In addition, Invictus claims that the token of Menlo falls under the category of securities and the company has not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or follows any regulatory rules.

“Based upon current legal standards, MET/One Tokens are 'securities' subject to federal and state securities laws and should not be allowed to be traded on U.S. exchanges because they were not properly registered and were not exempted from such registration,” the complaint noted.

The company is registered in Cayman Island to circumvent regulatory needs in the United States.

Menlo Inc., popularly known as Menlo One, is developing a framework for decentralized applications and focusing its services to enterprises.

“[Invictus Hyperion] detrimentally relied on these misstatements, misrepresentations, and omissions of material fact, including [these] examples, when it decided to purchase, acquire, hold, and not sell the MET/One Tokens,” Invictus added in the legal filing.

The investor is now claiming at least $75,000 as damages from the blockchain company, along with the associated legal charges.

Menlo's response

Though the complaint against Menlo One was filed on July 1, the company recently, in an official Medium post, tried to clarify a few the criticisms against it.

“In the opinion of Menlo One and our legal counsel, no our token does not meet the requirements to be considered a security. We consider our ONE token a product, not a security,” the company stated.

There have been a few changes in the regulatory landscape regarding blockchain and Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term. We’ve been getting asked a lot of the same questions, so we put together this FAQ. https://t.co/4jgkiQkEH5

— Menlo One (@menloone) May 30, 2019