Figure Markets Works With Ionic Digital Shareholder To Investigate Potential Board Misconduct Through Chainwire
San Francisco, California, September 7, 2024, Chainwire
Figure Markets today announced that, along with Veton Vejseli, a shareholder of Ionic Digital, it has requested access to certain company records under Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. This request seeks information to investigate possible misconduct by the Board of Directors and to assess their performance of fiduciary duties.
Figure Markets and Mr. Vejseli believes that access to these records (“Books and Records”) is essential to protect the interests of shareholders. This request stems from concerns about the possible behavior of board members and actions that may have disadvantaged shareholders. Specific areas of investigation include:
- Agreements Hut 8 Corp (NASDAQ:), the owner of bitcoin mining operations that works as a direct competitor of the Company and named CEO to control the seats of Ionic’s board.
- Excellent Board compensation packages.
- Restrictions on Ionic stock trading.
- Delay in registration of the company’s Class A Common Stock.
Based on communications with the Board, public filings, and other information, Figure Markets and Mr. Vejseli believes that the Board may put its own interests ahead of those of shareholders. This pattern of behavior is said to be evidenced by:
- Rejection of Figure Markets proposals during Celsius bankruptcy proceedings.
- The approval of deals with Hut 8 appears to have bypassed shareholder oversight.
- Self-nominations are important decisions in the Chapter 11 process.
- Gross compensation packages for Board members.
- Unreasonable delay in listing and registering Ionic stock.
“Since I was involved in the Celsius fraud from the beginning, it is unfortunate how the debtors were treated,” said Mike Cagney, CEO of Figure Markets. “We hope that by forcing a special shareholder meeting to improve Ionic’s management, governance, and strategy, we can save shareholder value.”
In response to widespread shareholder discontent, Figure Markets has launched a social media campaign aimed at securing 25% of Ionic’s shareholders to call a special shareholder meeting. Amazingly, despite the challenge of mobilizing 86,000 shareholders, none of whom own more than 1% of the stock, Figure Markets successfully secured the support of 29% of the remaining shareholders.
Figure Markets and Mr. Vejseli believes the Board’s actions could amount to gross negligence and revocation of the permit. They also express concern that these actions may deprive the shareholders of a voice in the management of the company. Access to Books and Records represents an important step in restoring shareholder democracy at Ionic.
This test application will allow Figure Markets and Mr. Vejsel to investigate possible misconduct and evaluate the Board’s performance of its fiduciary duties. They urged the Board to act quickly and work together constructively to address the concerns of shareholders.
The full text of the books and records requirement can be found here.
About Mathematical Markets
Figure Markets democratizes money with blockchain. We are building an exchange for everything – a decentralized market for cryptocurrencies, stocks, bonds, debt and more. We bring best-in-class, margin trading, and variable financing to our exchange, while offering our members a wide range of lending options and unique investment opportunities. Figure Markets puts our members in control of their assets and data, breaking away from legacy brokers, exchanges and lenders.
Figure Markets is supported by leading venture capital firms and strategic partners, including Jump Crypto, Pantera, Distributed Global, Faction Lightspeed, NewForm Capital and CMT Digital. Figure Markets was founded by a veteran team of entrepreneurs and operators from TradFi, fintech, and DeFi, including Mike Cagney and June Ou.
Learn more at www.figuremarkets.com.
Contact personPaula Jacklerpress@figuremarkets.com
This article was originally published on Chainwire
