Nasdaq-listed technology firm Xunlei has become the subject of multiple class-action lawsuits from investors who purchased the company’s digital token, Linktoken. Xunlei is accused of misleading investors to disguise an initial coin offering (ICO) through which Linktoken was distributed.
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Xunlei CEO Rejects ICO Allegations
The chief executive officer of Xunlei, Chen Lei, has rejected accusations that the company misled investors in order to illegally conduct an ICO in China.
Xunlei’s Linktoken was distributed to users in exchange for a contribution of idle internet bandwidth, according to South China Morning Post. Chen Lei has claimed that the Linktoken distribution did not comprise an ICO due to the company not raising any funds through the issuance of the tokens, and due to Linktoken comprising a utility token that is not allowed to be traded. “By making a public offering, really you need to use it to raise money. We have never used a coin to raise any money at all, that’s never our intention,” Mr. Lei stated.
In October 2017, Linktoken was launched in conjunction with other efforts by Xunlei to enter the booming blockchain industry. Whilst the distribution of the Linktoken appears to have been the catalyst for many weeks of sharp bullish action, the value of Xunlei’s stock has more than halved since posting 500% gains and setting record highs of $25 USD in November 2017.
Xunlei’s Stock Plummets
Since then, the price of Xunlei’s shares had plummeted to approximately $10 by early April, prompting some U.S.-based investors to seek action against the company for allegations of giving false and/or misleading statements regarding the legitimacy of the company’s cryptocurrency-related activities between October 2017 and January 2018.
