Fraudsters Take Aim at Investors in Controversial KodakCoin ICO

A representative for the company behind the long-in-the-making KODAKCoin initial coin offering (ICO) has accused a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange of fraud after it claimed it would host the token sale.

According to a page on the Hong Kong-based exchange LBank.io, the platform's ICO section says it is about to open the KODAKCoin token sale on Friday, May 4 at 20:00 Beijing time, or 12:00 UTC, which will end at the same time on May 11.

But the platform behind the digital rights management-focused coin first unveiled in January says that isn't true.

In an email response to CoinDesk's request for comment, a spokesperson for KODAKOne called the information "neither authentic nor accurate."

"It has come to our attention that more than one fraudulent websites have been promoting the sale of KODAKCoin. All factual information regarding the availability of an ICO to accredited investors will come directly from KODAKCoin and its authorized representatives."

The rep went on to say:

"To clarify, WENN Digital is only offering the SAFTs and the underlying KODAKCoin in exempt transactions to 'accredited investors. Offers and sales of the SAFTs and the underlying KODAKCoin outside the United States will also be made in accordance with the laws and regulations of the relevant jurisdictions."

The KODAKCoin sale was expected to begin at the end of January but was instead delayed for what was initially said to be several weeks.

Most recently, WENN Digital, KODAK's partner in developing the cryptocurrency, is pitching the sale to be conducted by way of Simple Agreements for Future Tokens (SAFTs), which brands the coin to be a utility token and can only be sold to "accredited investors."

According to LBank.io's token sale page, would-be investors can purchase KODAKCoin at a 1:1 ratio with tether or USDT, the dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tied to crypto exchange Bitfinex. The exchange's page claims that there is a funding hard cap of 8,000 ETH.

Data from CoinMarketCap shows that the LBank.io is currently the ninth-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume in the world, with over $421 million worth in transactions during the past 24 hours.

While LBank.io has not yet responded to CoinDesk's requests for comments, its website indicates that the firm was founded in 2017 and is currently based in Hong Kong

Kodak film image via Shutterstock