Tagged: dror futter

August 31, 2021 @ 11:14 am By Dror Futter  |  

Imagine a Baskin Robbins where you can get any flavor you want, as long as it is vanilla. Based on recent data provided by the National Venture Capital Association in partnership with Aumni, the market for venture capital deal terms seem to be that kind… Read More

November 9, 2020 @ 9:39 am By Dror Futter  |  

TL;DR – The SEC announced a series of amendments (likely to be effective early next year) to the rules governing private offering exemptions – by far the most frequent path for venture fundraising.  The amendments retain the same “menu” of exemptions but make incremental improvements…. Read More

May 10, 2020 @ 10:00 pm By Dror Futter  |  

  Buried in the model Series A Certificate of Incorporation of the National Venture Capital Association is the following notation: This Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation includes a sample “pay-to-play” provision, pursuant to which Preferred Stock investors are penalized if they fail to invest… Read More

April 27, 2020 @ 7:30 am By Dror Futter  |  

  If your venture is confronting a down round, you should not wear it as a badge of shame. Even in normal times, few ventures make an uninterrupted march up and to the right on the valuation curve. More importantly, if you are doing a… Read More

March 23, 2020 @ 5:00 pm By Dror Futter  |  

Remember all those articles about whether venture was overvalued?  With blinding speed, they now seem quaint.  Bluntly stated, most venture-backed companies are in a fight for survival.    Although certain areas of life sciences may do somewhat better, I think the impact will be widely felt. … Read More

October 15, 2019 @ 12:53 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, Crowdfund Insider reported on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action against Telegram and the issuance of Gram tokens. The move by the SEC is a doozy and telling. First, Telegram sold about $1.7 billion in a SAFT (simple agreement for future… Read More

October 2, 2019 @ 2:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week it was announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it had settled with Block.one, creator of EOS, regarding allegations of issuing unregistered securities during an initial coin offering (ICO) that raised a record-breaking $4 billion. The fine assessed by the… Read More

August 20, 2019 @ 12:30 pm By Dror Futter  |  

Recently we marked the second anniversary of the SEC’s issuance of an Investigative Report finding that the DAO Tokens were securities.   While this killed the hopes of those who had interpreted SEC silence to mean consent to the unregulated issuance of tokens, it still… 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

August 16, 2018 @ 6:13 pm By Dror Futter  |  

Summary:    The SEC has issued a Cease & Desist Order and sanctions against a token issuer and its founder.  Among several findings, the SEC determined that the “Bounty Program” run by the issuer constituted a securities offering.  The Order states “a ‘gift’ of a… Read More

June 28, 2018 @ 6:22 pm By Dror Futter  |  

In June 14 comments before the “Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit: Crypto,” William Hinman, Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance, stated: ETHER is not a security Decentralization and means of promotion are key to determining whether a token is a security. A digital… Read More

May 2, 2018 @ 11:00 am By Dror Futter  |  

The US initial coin offering (ICO) market is the subject of a great deal of regulatory uncertainty resulting, in large part, from the absence of comprehensive guidance by the SEC.   The uncertainty has caused frustration for issuers and investors and has also been counter-productive… Read More

February 28, 2018 @ 11:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

The environment for initial coin offerings (ICOs) in the US has changed dramatically in the past few months. In July of 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued the DAO report that identified the token offering as a security indicating at least some of the… Read More

February 25, 2018 @ 3:04 pm By Xinran Xu  |  

The global blockchain community gathered in Washington DC, the world’s policy and innovation center, on February 20th for the Digital Asset Investment Forum (DAIF) hosted by FinTech4Good. This was the second forum of DAIF global series in the year of 2018, serving as the launch… Read More