September 16, 2019 @ 11:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

Reg CF [Regulation Crowdfunding], the smallest of the three crowdfunding exemptions created by the bi-partisan JOBS Act of 2012, became officially actionable in May of 2016. In that time, hundreds of issuers have raised money on FINRA regulated “funding portals” taking advantage of the internet… Read More

September 12, 2019 @ 11:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets held a hearing entitled “Examining Private Market Exemptions as a Barrier to IPOs and Retail Investment.” The hearing saw a debate on the merits of private securities exemptions, such as Reg D, Reg… Read More

September 10, 2019 @ 7:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

Tomorrow (September 11), the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets, will hold a must-see hearing on “Examining Private Market Exemptions as a Barrier to IPOs and Retail Investment.”  The Subcommittee is Chaired by Representative Carolyn Maloney. The Hearing incorporates multiple pending… Read More

July 22, 2019 @ 3:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Blockstack has kicked off the first qualified Reg A+ token offering. Blockstack has reportedly worked closely with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to get the offering approved. Multiple issuers have been attempting to use the JOBS Act exemption to facilitate security token offerings due… Read More

June 26, 2019 @ 9:29 am By JD Alois  |  

The Association of Online Investment Platforms (AOIP) has published a series of policy recommendations encouraging Congress to act and improve the online capital formation marketplace by fixing existing flaws in crowdfunding rules. The AOIP is a newer advocacy group formed in the last year. The… Read More

June 19, 2019 @ 10:50 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking comments on the current securities exemption structure. In a release yesterday, the SEC asked the public to provide feedback on “ways to simplify, harmonize, and improve the exempt offering framework to expand investment opportunities while maintaining appropriate investor… Read More

April 21, 2019 @ 6:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

Previously doing business as iDisclose, LawCloud – a Legaltech firm based in New York City, has signed a licensing agreement with the law firm of Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP (EGS). LawCloud provides several legal services including software that automates a portion of the legal… Read More

April 8, 2019 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moved forward on clarifying their position regarding digital assets. First, a No-Action Letter (NAL) was released pertaining to the issuance of a token by TurnKey Jet. In a tightly defined issuance, Turnkey was deemed not to be… Read More

January 30, 2019 @ 12:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

Legaltech iDisclose is rebranding as LawCloud, according to a release by the firm. While the regulatory disclosure side of the business will continue to operate under the iDisclose brand, LawCloud has been deemed more appropriate to the company’s aspirations. LawCloud CEO Michael Knox said that the… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 4:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

FINRA recently posted their annual Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter. As part of the letter, FINRA stated they would be evaluating how firms conduct suitability analyses as well as communications and AML requirements for both Reg D 506c and Reg A+ offerings. These two exemptions… Read More

December 18, 2018 @ 11:17 am By Doug Ellenoff  |  

This summer, with little fanfare, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced some interesting and, in our view, directionally enlightened ideas on potential changes to state securities laws as they relate to secondary market trading. If you aren’t familiar with NASAA, it is a… 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

October 23, 2018 @ 12:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) hit the popular media screen during 2017 with stories of outrageous sums of money being raised online – sometimes under questionable circumstances. In total, according to EY, $4.1 billion was raised for the top ICOs during 2017. In 2018, that number… Read More

October 18, 2018 @ 10:00 am By JD Alois  |  

iDisclose, a Legaltech firm that currently provides streamlined solutions to complete both Reg D and Reg CF securities offerings, will soon add Reg A+ to its list of services. iDisclose has announced a new partnership with Ketsal Consulting, a firm comprised of former big law… Read More

September 25, 2018 @ 9:00 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Association of Online Investment Platforms Seeks to Boost Trust, Educate Investors & Help Businesses in Need of Funding The investment crowdfunding industry in the United States was launched following the signing of the JOBS Act of 2012. This bi-partisan legislation enabled online platforms to promote… Read More

July 23, 2018 @ 5:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a letter forwarded to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton, a group of Fintech leaders demanded the Commission to increase Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) from the current $1.07 million max amount to $20 million – a substantial increase to current rules. The… Read More

March 4, 2018 @ 6:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

    The very first initial coin offering (ICO) took place in June of 2013 when Mastercoin raised around $5 million in Bitcoin. That was the same year that Title II of the JOBS Act launched allowing general solicitation (SEC lingo for advertising) under Regulation… Read More

January 26, 2018 @ 9:44 am By JD Alois  |  

  This past week both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission came out with strong statements warning the exuberant initial coin offering industry (ICO) that regulators will no longer tolerate the flouting of existing securities law. ICOs have increased rapidly… Read More

January 23, 2018 @ 2:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

iDisclose, a Legaltech company which assists companies with legal documents including Form D and Form C, has announced that it has named Michael Knox as its new CEO. Knox takes over the leadership position from Georgia Quinn, the long time co-founder and CEO. Knox has been with… Read More

January 7, 2018 @ 4:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

The regulatory drums are getting louder when it comes to initial coin offerings (ICOs). The first shot across the virtual bow was the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Report addressing the DAO and the fact it was an unregistered security. Since last July, there have been… Read More