SEC Starts Investigation Against BarnBridge DAO and Associated Individuals
On July 6, Douglas Park, a lawyer for the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) BarnBridge, shared important news with members on the platform’s Discord channel. Park announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated an investigation against BarnBridge DAO and individuals associated with it.
To mitigate potential legal obligations, Park recommended halting all work related to BarnBridge products, including closing liquidity pools.
Furthermore, he suggested that individuals should not receive compensation for their contributions resulting from the DAO’s investment activities.
Shortly after Park’s message, co-founder Tyler Ward, also known as “Lord Tyler” on Discord, confirmed the accuracy of the information on BarnBridge’s Discord platform.
While Park and Ward did not explicitly state the reason for the SEC’s investigation into BarnBridge DAO, Park made it clear that limited information can be shared currently due to the ongoing and non-public investigation.
Speculation Arises Among DAO Members in Response to the Announcement
Following the announcement, several BarnBridge DAO members expressed skepticism about the SEC’s investigation. One member on the Discord platform demanded substantial evidence of the SEC’s involvement and suggested that BarnBridge founders might be using the investigation as a pretext for an “exit strategy” that could potentially defraud investors.
However, Tyler Ward dismissed these claims, stating it was the “worst thought-through carpet attempt in history,” implying that such intentions were unfounded.
Some members reacted more calmly to the news, with one suggesting it was time to move to Europe and ironically implying that DAO members might escape the SEC’s control.
Another member jokingly noted that anyone involved with BarnBridge should expect dire consequences, joking that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler would “shoot” them live on television, referring to Gensler’s perceived strict stance on cryptocurrencies.
Impact of SEC Lawsuits on BarnBridge Native Crypto and Previous SEC Lawsuits
After news of the investigation, BarnBridge’s native token BOND experienced a decline of 9.4%, with its price falling to $3.02, according to CoinGecko.
BOND is now 98.3% below its all-time high of $185.7 on October 27, 2020, and currently has a market capitalization of only $28 million.
This is not the first time the regulatory agency has held cryptocurrency firms accountable, as the SEC recently announced a lawsuit against two leading industry exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, for allegedly offering unregistered securities.
The reported investigation of BarnBridge, a medium-sized DAO, may indicate that the securities regulator is expanding its oversight beyond larger companies in the cryptocurrency industry. This development raises questions about the breadth of the SEC’s focus within the industry.
Selected image from Twitter, chart from Tradingview.com
