On December 4, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced that it has filed charges against two individuals for their roles in the initial coin offering (“ICO”) of PlexCoin Tokens. The SEC charged Dominic Lacroix and Sabrina Paradis-Royer with engaging in an ongoing securities fraud and the unlawful…
On August 30, 2017, the Israeli equivalent of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Israeli Security Authority (“ISA”) announced it had formed a committee to study whether, and how, to apply Israeli securities laws to initial coin offerings (“ICOs”). Specifically, the ISA stated it would examine six issues related…
During a speech on November 8th at the 49th Annual Institute on Securities Regulation, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton discussed initial coin offerings, stating that he had “yet to see an ICO that doesn’t have a sufficient number of hallmarks of a security,” seeming to indicate increased SEC…
Pursuant to its LabCFTC initiative, the regulator issued a FinTech Primer on virtual currencies, including addressing the jurisdictional reach of the CFTC and the SEC (and potential overlap). Several questions remain regarding the already uncertain status of ICOs under the federal securities and commodities laws and regulations. WHAT HAPPENED? On…
Various news sources, including Reuters, are reporting that the People’s Bank of China has issued a joint statement with other Chinese regulators proclaiming that ICOs in China are illegal. See the Reuters article here: China hits booming cryptocurrency market with coin fundraising ban. The statement further directs Individuals and organizations…
Today the SEC issued an Investor Alert warning investors about companies asserting they are engaging in an ICO, when in fact it is a scam. Specifically, “The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is warning investors about potential scams involving stock of companies claiming to be related to, or…