High Times Rescinds Claim to Accept Cryptocurrency During IPO 🚨 This article is 6 years old...
High Times Rescinds Claim to Accept Cryptocurrency During IPO
2 min read
Updated: Aug. 15, 2018 at 4:35 pm UTC
Photo by Robert Nelson on Unsplash
Earlier this month, High Times magazine announced that they will be accepting cryptocurrency as the first-ever Nasdaq IPO to do so. However, a recent SEC filing reveals that High Times will not deliver on its benchmark promise and will only accept fiat investments during its upcoming public offering.
High Times Not Accepting Crypto After All
A filing by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), dated Aug. 3, states that High Times Holding Corp. released a press release “in error” and will not be accepting cryptocurrency during its initial public offering (IPO).
According to the SEC report, High Times will only accept traditional forms of payment for investments:
“This press release was distributed in error as the company will not be accepting Bitcoin as payment for shares. As provided in the company’s subscription agreement related to the offering, the company will only be accepting check, credit card, ACH or wire transfer as payment for subscription to shares.”
Based in New York, High Times is a leading media outlet for cannabis culture and news that has been in operation since 1974.
On Aug. 2, High Times announced that it would become the first IPO on Nasdaq public stock exchange to accept investments in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
At the time, the company described its foray into cryptocurrencies as a way to reach a broader audience of global investors. In the original press release, CEO Adam Levin said:
“While we didn’t believe that the ICO process was the right move for our brand, it would’ve been foolish to leave this emerging investor base out as we continue to transform into a diversified media, events and merchandise giant.”
The press release explained that under Regulation A+ of the JOBS Act for equity-crowdfunding, High Times should be able to crowdsource up to $50 million in both fiat and cryptocurrency investments for shares in the company. It is still unclear how High Times fell into this misconception.
High Times Holding Corp. plans to start trading on NASDAQ in Q3 2018. According to the press release, investors will be able to buy shares of the company for a discounted $11 per share prior to its listing on public markets later this year.
