--- title: "The SEC Is Going After Mila Kunis’ NFT Project" description: "Mila Kunis is once again in the news, though this time, it has nothing to do with her newly-jailed \"That 70's Show\" costar Danny Masterson. " date: "2023-09-13" modified: "2023-09-13" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mila-kunis-nfts-sec" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Future Society" - "NFTs" tags: - "nfts" - "sec" - "securities" - "the digest" --- # The SEC Is Going After Mila Kunis’ NFT Project ![]() *LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 15: Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis attend the 9th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on April 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) \Image: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin via Getty Images\* ## Up In Smoke Mila Kunis is once again [in the news](), though this time, it has nothing to do with her newly-sentenced "That '70s Show" costar [Danny Masterson](). In a filing, the [Securities and Exchange Commission]() claimed that "Stoner Cats," a non-fungible token (NFT) collection that funded a TV show by the same name that Kunis' company produced, misled investors and offered unregistered securities. As [*Coindesk* noted](), the animated TV show associated with the NFTs, which was also named "Stoner Cats," was produced by Kunis' company Orchard Farm Productions and centered on animated cats that became sentient when exposed to weed smoke. The scheme behind the project was peculiar and involved its crew and voice actors — which included Kunis' husband Ashton Kutcher alongside such big names as Chris Rock, Jane Fonda, Seth McFarlane, Dax Shepard, and even Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, who voiced a character named Lord Catsington — being paid from primary sales of the project's NFTs. Beyond the initial sale, Stoner Cats holders were also encouraged to resell their NFTs on secondary markets by being offered 2.5 percent royalties — an incentive that resulted in more than 10,000 resale transactions and which pulled in a whopping $20 million in crypto, the SEC said. ## Profit Promises As the SEC alleges, Stoner Cats 2 LLC — the company created to sell the NFTs — led the people who bought the digital collectibles to think they'd turn a profit by emphasizing "its expertise as Hollywood producers, its knowledge of crypto projects, and the well-known actors involved in the web series." "Regardless of whether your offering involves beavers, chinchillas or animal-based NFTs, under the federal securities laws, it’s the economic reality of the offering — not the labels you put on it or the underlying objects — that guides the determination of what’s an investment contract and therefore a security," Gurbir Grewal, the director of the SEC’s enforcement division, said in the agency's statement. The crux of the SEC's argument against Stoner Cats was that the NFTs were resold to turn a profit rather than being kept as collectibles, which most NFTs purport to be. This made the NFTs into securities without being registered as such, the argument goes, the way stocks and bonds are. It's not a new accusation, and the financial regulator brought down its first unregistered securities ruling against [another NFT project last month]() — though that one, to be fair, didn't have the same cachet as "Stoner Cats." Though it did not admit responsibility, Stoner Cats 2 paid a $1 million fine, agreed to destroy all of the Stoner Cats NFTs it still held, and set up a recovery fund for investors who bought its digital wares — which we must say seems like a lot more compensation than most NFT projects provide for the people pulled into their schemes. **More on NFTs:** [*Bored Ape Investors Are Suing Paris Hilton as the Whole Thing Falls Apart*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()