Opinion

December 7, 2018 @ 8:32 am By Cali Haan  |  

The Australian Parliament passed a bill this week obliging tech firms like Google, Facebook and Apple to turn over encrypted data sought in police investigations, Reuters reports. “Let’s just make Australians safe over Christmas,” opposition Labor party leader Bill Shorten told reporters when asked about… Read More

December 6, 2018 @ 6:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several weeks back, CI covered the draft legislation for pan-European crowdfunding rules from the European Parliament. At that time, initial coin offerings (ICO) were part of the possible legislation. Crowdfunding is part of the European Union Fintech Action plan that directly aligns with the Capital… Read More

December 5, 2018 @ 1:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

Most innovation occurs in smaller businesses and most job creation takes place within these small firms. This is a truism for all developed countries and in recent years governments around the world have sought to foster an innovation-driven economy. The European Union (Brexit aside) is… Read More

December 5, 2018 @ 12:00 pm By Scott Schirick  |  

November was a busy month for the SEC’s burgeoning regulation of digital assets. In the first action of its kind, the Commission brought enforcement proceedings against the founder of digital asset trading platform EtherDelta for operating as an unregistered securities “exchange.” Ten days later, the… Read More

December 4, 2018 @ 11:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Speaking at Blockland Cleveland yesterday, Congressman Warren Davidson, from Ohio’s 8th District, discussed forthcoming legislation that may dramatically impact the initial coin offering (ICO) industry in the US. Representative Warren said the draft legislation seeks to create a token that can trade but will not… Read More

December 3, 2018 @ 11:16 am By Cali Haan  |  

A former blockchain division head at Ernst & Young (EY) has gone public about his misgivings regarding the much-hyped potential of corporate blockchain. Angus Champion de Crespigny, who graduated as an engineer and who has worked in cybersecurity, data analytics, regulatory compliance, and technology worked at… Read More

December 3, 2018 @ 9:05 am By Charles Kaufman & Jor Law  |  

Those who have read the SEC settlements with AirFox (CarrierEQ.Inc.) and Paragon Coin, Inc. published on November 16, 2018, will note that the defendant ICO issuers agreed, among other things, to register their “coins” under the Exchange Act (the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) by filing… Read More

December 2, 2018 @ 10:30 am By Dror Futter  |  

In late 2013, seed accelerator YCombinator introduced the SAFE (simple agreement for future equity) – a convertible instrument designed to make seed stage investing quicker and less expensive. The SAFEs quickly became a popular structure for seed investing.  Early this fall, YCombinator introduced several changes… Read More

November 30, 2018 @ 12:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

Congressman Patrick McHenry has been elected as the Ranking Member of the powerful House Financial Services Committee. As Republicans lose control of House, Committee leadership positions have swapped parties. McHenry has been a member of the House Financial Services Committee for some time. “I am… Read More

November 27, 2018 @ 9:26 pm By Samuel Guzik  |  

As the expression goes:  “Look before you leap.”  But if you are an innovator, determined to blaze a trail never before navigated – there is not much to look at. Being a pioneer can be a lonely and dangerous adventure.  Nothing could be more true… Read More

November 26, 2018 @ 6:30 pm By Christian Hsieh  |  

At the tail end of 2017, all eyes turned to the cryptocurrency industry when Bitcoin’s price soared to reach nearly $20,000 per coin. Articles were written, hands were shaken, and early investors in the digital currency had a very good holiday season indeed. But that… Read More

November 26, 2018 @ 10:46 am By JD Alois  |  

On November 16th, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its first enforcement actions against initial coin offerings (ICOs) that did not file for an appropriate securities exemption following the SEC’s DAO report. The SEC settled claims with both Paragon and AirFox with each ICO issuer… Read More

November 23, 2018 @ 10:30 am By Aubrey Hansen   |  

Three years into the smart contract revolution that should have brought us international, completely free and trust-independent markets, the time has come to see how far we’ve gotten and what remains from the grand idea. During its early beginnings, the Ethereum project was often introduced… Read More

November 21, 2018 @ 5:56 am By Onki Kwan  |  

Last Friday, the SEC settled charges against two companies, CarrierEQ Inc. dba Airfox (“Airfox”) and Paragon Coin Inc. (“Paragon”), which raised money with initial coin offerings (“ICOs”).  The SEC found that both companies violated the registration provisions of the U.S. securities laws because neither company… Read More

November 20, 2018 @ 3:00 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Co-founded by CEO Craig Mc Gregor and CTO Christian Peters, the DSTOQ platform issues real-world assets such as oil, gold, equities and bonds in the tokenized DSQ form, allowing investors on a global scale to use cryptocurrency to invest in high-growth assets such as Uber,… Read More

November 19, 2018 @ 8:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced enforcement actions against two initial coin offerings (ICOs): Paragon (Paragon Coin Inc.) and AirFox (CarrierEQ Inc. dba Airfox). As the SEC recounted in their Administrative filing: Airfox: “Between August and October 2017, AirFox offered and then… Read More

November 17, 2018 @ 4:44 am By Aubrey Hansen   |  

Proving who we are used to be a pretty straight-forward affair, or as Popeye the Sailor Man used to say: I am what I am and that’s all that I am. The increasing digitization of our lives, however, doesn’t tolerate this naive attitude any longer. … Read More

November 16, 2018 @ 3:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, CI reported on the first enforcement actions taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pertaining to post-DAO initial coin offerings (ICOs). The case is precedent setting and sets a clear path for enforcement officials to proceed with other ICO issuers who raised… Read More

November 15, 2018 @ 9:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Autorité des Marches Financiers (AMF) the regulator that has oversight of securities in France, has published a report on initial coin offerings. Entitled ICO Françaises: Un Nouveau Mode de Financement? – the document is a follow up to a year ago launch to the… Read More

November 15, 2018 @ 10:01 am By JD Alois  |  

After the first of the year, control of the House of Representatives will move over to the Democrat party following mid-term elections. While the Senate will remain in Republican control, the split Congress means agenda items will frequently be at odds. But in the final… Read More