Tezos Foundation reaches $25 million settlement with investors in ICO lawsuit

ICO and IEO • September 1, 2020, 10:37AM EDT

The Tezos Foundation has crossed the final leg of a $25 million settlement it initially agreed to in March with investors who claimed that the foundation conducted an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg of the Northern District of California signed off on the settlement, taking the years-long case to its final conclusion. However, the court has not ruled on whether Tezos' ICO, worth $232 million, was an unregistered securities sale.

As part of the settlement, lead plaintiff Trigon Trading's attorneys will take more than $8.5 million of the total compensation. The remaining $16.5 million will be distributed among investors who suffered losses after participating in the Tezos ICO. Those who gained from their investment will not be able to make a claim.

In March, the Tezos Foundation said it agreed to settle the case because lawsuits are "expensive and time-consuming," although it continued to believe that the case was "meritless."

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