Swiss-based cryptocurrency venture, the Tezos Foundation announced that its long-awaited mainnet will be launched on Monday, September 17, according to a September 14 tweet.
The “Experimental” Phase Ends Soon
(Source: Steemit)
The Swiss-based cryptocurrency project the Tezos Foundation is preparing to launch the long-awaited main version of its network that underpins a new virtual token on Monday.
According to a September 14 report from Reuters, the Tezos Foundation raised around $232 million in July 2017 to build the network and issue a new type of cryptocurrency to its backers in one of the largest-ever initial coin offerings.
Despite the network raising around 66,000 bitcoins (BTC) and 361,000 ethereums (ETH), Tezos called the funds “a non-refundable donation” and not a “speculative investment,” adding that the token might not be issued at all.
A blockchain version of the software was still launched at the end of June 2018, and since then, all of its XTZ tokens have been fully tradeable. When it first launched, only the Tezos Foundation was able to validate transactions on the network, but on July 20 the foundation opened up to third-party validators.
However, Monday, September 17 marks the day when the protocol will exit its “experimental” phase and become a full mainnet.
“Have a great weekend, everyone, because mainnet arrives Monday!”, the foundation tweeted on September 14, while another spokesperson for the company confirmed the launch date to Reuters.
A Foundation Plagued with Problems
The announced September 17 launch will mark a great achievement for the Tezon Foundation, which has been hobbled by internal fighting and delays very much since its beginning. The company is still facing litigation in the U.S., as well as the ever-increasing regulatory scrutiny.
Following the Foundation’s ICO back in July 2017, a dispute arose between project founders Arthur and Kathleen Breitman and former foundation president Johann Gevers. While the Breitmans owned Tezos’ intellectual property rights, Gevers was in control of the raised funds.
The dispute lead to Gevers’ stepping down in February 2018, causing, in turn, a delay of the platform launch and a series of lawsuits against the company. Ryan Jesperson, one of the project’s contributors, took his place as president of the Tezos Foundation.
Since the launch of the company’s ICO, several class-action lawsuits have been filed in the United States against the project’s organizers alleging the fundraiser violated federal securities laws and defrauded investors. While the Tezos fundraiser was structured as a donation, many of its contributors said they believed it to be an investment.
Another lawsuit concerning the company’s compliance with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations that the Tezos tokens should be considered securities under U.S. law. If the tokens were to be marked as securities, they would need to be registered with the SEC in order to be legally sold to investors.