LBRY shuts down operations

Blockchain publishing platform LBRY Inc. announced that it is shutting down operations as it is unable to pay its debt to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), its legal team and private debtors.

See related article: Binance freezes over 100 accounts on Israeli police request: Financial Times

Fast Facts

• “LBRY Inc. must die, there is no escaping this. It has lost a judgment to the federal government, has several million dollars in debts, and has pledged to shut down,” LBRY said Thursday.

• The team said that there were over 30 million content pieces published on the LBRY blockchain, which will continue to exist as long as the blockchain’s mining continues.

• However, if the LBRY’s flagship app, Odysee, stops using the blockchain, content that isn’t actively seeded by others will no longer be available. 

• The SEC filed a complaint against LBRY in March 2021, alleging it raised US$11 million through the sale of LBC, LBRY’s cryptocurrency, as an “unregistered security.”  On Nov. 7 last year, the court issued a summary judgment in favor of the SEC and classified the initial sale of LBC as an investment contract.

• The SEC initially sought a US$22 million punishment, but downgraded it to US$111,614 in May, after realizing that the company couldn’t pay the fine.

See related article: BlackRock shares go digital on JPMorgan’s Onyx blockchain