A South Korean court docket acquitted Jang Hyun-guk, the previous CEO of blockchain gaming agency Wemade, of manipulating the WEMIX crypto token’s circulation.
On Tuesday, native information outlet News1 reported that the Seoul Southern District Courtroom dominated Jang didn’t intend to affect crypto market costs utilizing misleading means.
This ruling cleared him of violating the nation’s capital market legal guidelines, marking a big authorized win for Jang, who now works at blockchain gaming firm Nexus.
Prosecutors alleged that Jang had falsely introduced a halt in liquidation for WEMIX tokens to stabilize costs and induce investor confidence within the asset. Nonetheless, the court docket discovered no clear proof of intent to govern the market.
WEMIX token down 97% since its peak
On Aug. 5, 2024, Jang was indicted on costs of fabricating and omitting details about the precise circulating provide of WEMIX tokens. He was accused of deceiving shoppers and failing to reveal token gross sales, regardless of promising to cease promoting tokens in February 2022.
Prosecutors claimed that below Jang’s management, Wemade unfairly offered over $200 million in WEMIX tokens available in the market from February to October 2022, with out complying with the disclosure necessities of South Korea’s Capital Markets Act. The corporate allegedly used the tokens to spend money on exterior funds and obtain stablecoin loans, utilizing Wemix as collateral.
In response to the controversies, the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance, a commerce group comprised of South Korea’s largest exchanges, delisted the WEMIX token in December 2023, after the Seoul Central District Courtroom authorised the transfer.
The controversy involving Jang has harm investor confidence within the Wemade challenge. The WEMIX token now trades at $0.61, a 97% lower from its all-time excessive of $24.71 on Nov. 21, 2021.
Regardless of the decision, prosecutors can file an enchantment to a better court docket in the event that they disagree with the ruling.
Cointelegraph reached out to Wemade for remark however had not acquired a response earlier than publication.
Associated: Bank of Korea to take ‘cautious approach’ to Bitcoin reserve
Wemix Basis accused of cover-up amid hack
Aside from the court docket case, the WEMIX token has faced another controversy, involving allegations of a cover-up after a serious crypto hack.
On Feb. 28, over 8.6 million tokens have been withdrawn due to an assault on the blockchain gaming platform’s Play Bridge Vault.
The hack resulted in additional than $6 million in crypto losses. The corporate disclosed data days later, resulting in allegations of a cover-up.
Nonetheless, Wemix Basis CEO Kim Seok-hwan mentioned the corporate had no intention of concealing the assault. He mentioned the announcement was delayed to keep away from inflicting panic available in the market due to the stolen property.
Regardless of Kim’s try to calm the markets, the token’s value plummeted virtually 40% days after the assault.
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