Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are facing more troubles. If it wasn’t enough with the public backlash they’re receiving for supporting a convicted criminal, now the NFTs based on the series Stoner Cats have been taken down by the SEC after detecting certain unregistered securities. The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has identified certain pyramid scheme-like behaviors that could be a problem for potential buyers.
An extremely serious issue
Stoner Cats is an adult animated series featuring cats that become self-aware after consuming their owner’s medicinal marijuana. It’s interesting to imagine Ashton Kutcher involved in a project like this. The series also boasts guest stars like Jane Fonda, Chris Rock, and Seth McFarlane, among others. To access the series, one had to purchase one of the 10,000 NFTs associated with it, initially priced at $800, granting access to its six episodes.
So far, it might seem like a relatively expensive way to access a series. However, the sale of these NFTs entitles the original owner to a 2.5% royalty on the resale price, meaning the couple would continue to profit with each subsequent sale if the original buyers attempted to recover their money by reselling the NFTs. But the issue escalated further as Stoner Cats’ social media actively encouraged speculation and constant trading of these NFTs, suggesting that the more successful the show became, the more valuable these tokens would be. They even offered questionable advice, including recommending buying more and more NFTs. This fueled a market that consistently generated profits while putting more and more people at financial risk.
However, the SEC has made it clear that the value of an NFT is not determined by its associated products. Instead, it’s the economic reality of the offering, not the underlying objects, that defines it as an investment contract. Currently, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher face a $1 million fine and the obligation to refund anyone who has been harmed by these actions, but these might not be the only consequences they face.
