Tagged: anthony zeoli

September 3, 2020 @ 10:01 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

Its official, the “accredited investor” definition, which has not changed significantly since its enactment almost 40 years ago, has been massively upgraded. On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted final amendments to the “accredited investor” definition which fundamentally change and broaden… Read More

January 14, 2020 @ 1:24 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

While it passed somewhat under the radar with the holiday season, on December 18, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released a proposal to significantly amend the existing “accredited investor” definition; which is integral in determining who can participate in private securities transactions. The… Read More

May 6, 2019 @ 9:42 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

Here’s a question for all of you. Between coins, tokens, stamps, tickets, vouchers, and chips, which of these qualifies as a “security” under U.S. Securities laws? It’s actually a trick question, they all do! Well, technically speaking, they all could potentially qualify as securities. The… Read More

April 3, 2019 @ 11:22 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published a statement on the “Framework for ‘Investment Contract’ Analysis of Digital Assets” The public statement announcing the Framework was co-signed by Bill Hinman, Director of Division of Corporation Finance and Valerie Szczepanik, Senior Advisor for Digital Assets… Read More

April 3, 2019 @ 11:05 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Division of Corporate Finance, has issued its first No-Action letter pertaining to the issuance of a token that is considered not to be a regulated security. The response was engendered by a request by attorney James Curry, on behalf… Read More

February 15, 2019 @ 10:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

There has been a good amount of discussion regarding the decision by Judge Gonzalo Curiel, of the US District Court for the Southern District of California, to grant the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) bid for a preliminary injunction against crypto company Blockvest LLC. Initially, the Court… Read More

January 14, 2019 @ 9:48 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

While most people were busy with last minute Christmas shopping, on December 20th of last year, Representatives Warren Davidson and Darren Soto were busy finalizing and introducing the proposed new “Token Taxonomy Act” (HR 7356). The proposed Token Taxonomy Act seeks to modify both existing… Read More

September 8, 2018 @ 12:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Anthony Zeoli, a partner at Freeborn & Peters LLP and long time CI Senior Contributor, has been named to the National Law Journal’s (NLJ’s) list of Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and Fintech Trailblazers. NLJ says the attorneys on their list are individuals who truly have “moved the needle” in… Read More

July 30, 2018 @ 11:00 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

Earlier this month the House Financial Services Committee unveiled a new bill aimed at fostering increased private investment. The “JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2018,” as the bill is titles, is actually a compilation of 32 individual bills. While the complete list of the… Read More

July 2, 2018 @ 8:16 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

Through a triad of recent releases/interviews, the SEC has further clarified how it views the offering and sale of crypto assets. These guidance materials provide some really good insight on the SEC’s thinking with respect to its treatment of crypto assets; including some bright line… Read More

April 24, 2018 @ 2:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The world of initial coin offering (ICO) investing is chock full of peril and risk, as well as opportunity. Purchasing a tokenized asset has become a trip to Vegas-like event as investors attempt to discern which ICO will rise and which offering will quickly plummet…. Read More

March 26, 2018 @ 2:33 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

Investment in the cryptocurrency industry is currently dominated by the use of Simple Agreements for Future Tokens (SAFTs). While SAFTs were a somewhat novel approach when they were introduced, now that cryptocurrency assets have become almost universally deemed “securities” by the SEC, the use of… Read More

March 12, 2018 @ 12:40 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

Following the SEC’s recent initial subpoena offerings (pun intended) targeting initial coin offering (ICO) issuers, many believe the SEC might now turn its sights toward some of the gatekeepers involved in the subject ICOs, including the attorneys. Some attorneys practicing in the ICO space have… Read More

March 11, 2018 @ 11:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

CERES Coin has filed a Form D with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicating its intent to raise up to $20 million to launch a “Blockchain based transaction network for the legal Cannabis industry.” Ceres’ initial coin offering (ICO) seeks to provide a solution… Read More

November 28, 2017 @ 9:08 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

If you’ve been under a rock for the last year or so, you might not know that “initial coin offerings” or ICOs are the hottest thing in the financial market today. As if the fact that the overwhelming majority of ICOs aren’t regulated in any… Read More

September 5, 2017 @ 3:59 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

While Regulation (Title III) Crowdfunding continues to get all of the attention, the overwhelming majority of states currently have some form of “intrastate” retail crowdfunding laws already in effect; many of which offer significantly more favorable terms to issuers and investors than the federal rules…. Read More

July 10, 2017 @ 7:45 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

In a recent testimony to the Investor Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Scott Kupor, CEO & Managing Partner of Andreessen Horowitz, a $6.5 billion multi-stage venture capital firm, gave an amazingly comprehensive and concise description of today’s vanishing IPO market, the… Read More

May 30, 2017 @ 2:25 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

What was previously a relatively innocuous industry sector, the financial technology (or “Fintech”) industry has exploded over the past few years. With the litany of new Fintech startups and existing Fintech businesses, and even Fintech specific incubators and accelerators popping up, the Fintech revolution is… Read More

April 17, 2017 @ 12:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

Deloitte’s recent report on Fintech Hubs entitled A tale of 44 cities – Connecting Global FinTech: Interim Hub Review 2017 indicated that London remained at the top of the list with Singapore closely behind it and obviously hoping to become number one. But alongside the original 20… Read More

February 16, 2017 @ 9:24 pm By Georgia Quinn  |  

  First off, we all owe Tony a debt of gratitude for actually drafting this set of regulations. Legislative drafting is yeoman’s work especially when it comes to tax law. This new legislation solves for two extremely important problems in the U.S. economy and society…. Read More