Tagged: icos

In 2019, the Autorité Des Marchés Financiers in France Approved its First ICO, Since then Few Have Used the Updated Rules

In December 2019, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers in France approved its first initial coin offering (ICO). France had previously pushed forward legislation that sought to regulate ICOs under the French Pact Law (or Loi Pacte). The Loi Pacte introduced an optional visa regime for… Read More

Markus Jun: Founder of ICON Hyperconnect Public Representative Shares Latest Insights from South Korea Crypto and Blockchain Sector

We recently connected with Markus Jun, the founder and CEO of ICON Hyperconnect Public Representative, a leading block validator for the ICON network with $20 million in total staked value, and Hyperconnector, an official accelerator partner of the ICON Foundation & ICX Station Seoul. Markus… Read More

Zoe Adamovicz, CEO at Neufund, Reveals how Blockchain or DLT enabled Crowdfunding Platforms can Streamline Investment Process

Zoe Adamovicz, CEO and Co-founder of Neufund, recently explained how a blockchain or distributed ledger tech (DLT)-powered fundraising platform actually works. Neufnd was established in 2016 and its main value proposition involves democratizing access to funding for  entrepreneurs and also to make it more convenient… Read More

John McAfee Hit by SEC Enforcement Action Regarding ICO Promotions, DOJ Joins in with Criminal Charges

John McAfee, a blockchain advocate and former software entrepreneur that created McAfee ant-virus software, is the target of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action pertaining to the promotion of initial coin offerings (ICOs). The civil action by the SEC was joined by criminal… Read More

University Faculty Members from China and Singapore Make Disclosure Recommendations for Cryptocurrency Token Issuers

  The cryptocurrency market reached all-time highs of more than $800 billion during the initial coin offering (ICO) craze of 2017-2018. There were many huge scams carried out during this time, which involved seemingly promising, but too good to be true companies like BitConnect. While… Read More

Jonah Schulman: Head of Marketing at Security Token Market Discusses Benefits of Using Blockchain-based Security Tokens

  We recently caught up with Jonah Schulman, the Head of Marketing at Security Token Market, a US-based company focused on a listing website for Security Token Offerings (STOs) from all over the world. The firm’s STO listings include basic information about the company and… Read More

Like ICOs, IEOs Were More About “Speculation and Trading” than Fundraising and Project Development: Blockchain Sector Report

New York-based SMC Capital, a VC firm focused on blockchain technology, and Estonia’s bigX, a Fintech firm that provides a crypto-fiat exchange, have co-published an extensive report on initial exchange offerings (IEOs). IEOs came after initial coin offerings (ICOs), which are a type of crowdfunding… Read More

Exit Scam? Blockchain Project Loom Network Appears to be “Dead,” Developers Abandon it After $45 Million ICO

The Loom Network, a platform-as-as-service (PaaS) blockchain initiative, appears to have an extremely uncertain future. Based on investigations and comments from social media users, there’s no real proof of a live or active project being supported by the developers of the Loom Network. According to… Read More

Telegram Says it will Be Unable to Offer Previously Promised 110% Refund to US Investors after SEC told Company to Suspend Operations

Encrypted messaging provider Telegram reportedly missed its April 30, 2020 deadline for launching the Telegram Open Network (TON), a blockchain platform (under development) that will be protected by a built-in “anonymizer” and proxy. The TON platform aims to offer messaging, the Gram cryptocurrency, and various… Read More

Report: UK Blockchain or DLT Firms are Increasingly Using Traditional Fundraising Methods, Not ICOs

A recent study published by VC firm, MMC Ventures, reveals that the United Kingdom’s blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT)-focused companies are increasingly turning to traditional fundraising options and strategies. The study confirmed that the initial coin offerings (ICO) model for securing capital has become… Read More

Singapore’s Inland Revenue Authority Says it Won’t Collect Taxes on Cryptocurrency Airdrops or Hard Forks

Singapore’s tax authority, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), confirmed that it will not be collecting taxes on airdropped cryptocurrency, provided that the recipients get them  for free. As noted in an income tax treatment guide, released on April 17, 2020, the IRAS clarified… Read More

Switzerland: FINMA Annual Report Highlights Fintech Development Including Digital Assets, ICO Enforcement Actions

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has published its annual report for 2019. FINMA said that blockchain technology continued to “preoccupy FINMA intensively.” FINMA currently oversees over 29,200 financial services firms and products. FINMA said it is increasingly seeing the development of digital securities… Read More

An ICO by Any Other Name: SEC Issues Investor Alert on Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs)

The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Investor Education and Advocacy division is warning the public that, because both Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) and the platforms selling them may be unregistered and unregulated, investing in IEOs may be high risk- and not much different than… Read More

ICO Issuers that Sold Unregistered Securities May Not Be Able to Pay Penalties Assessed by the SEC. What Happens Now?

Last week, Crowdfund Insider referred to several Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions that addressed the sale of unregistered securities by issuers of initial coin offerings (ICOs). Penalties assessed by the SEC are now coming due for several prominent enforcement actions brought by the… Read More

ICOBox and Founder Nikolay Evdokimov Sued by Securities and Exchange Commission Targeting $14 Million ICO as Illegal Securities Offering

ICO Securities Fraud The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has continued its long march of enforcement actions regarding initial coin offerings (ICO) and the platforms that supported them. According to the SEC, ICOBox and founder Nikolay Evdokimov conducted an “illegal $14 million securities offering of… Read More

Stefan Deiss: Blockchain Propulsion CEO Discusses Funding Challenges Faced By Crypto Startups

We recently caught up with Steifan Deiss, co-founder and CEO of Blockchain Propulsion, a Switzerland-headquartered global accelerator program for blockchain startups.  Deiss, an MBA graduate from HWZ University of Applied Sciences, shared his views and insights regarding the emerging distributed ledger technology (DLT) industry and… Read More

H1 2019 Report: Cryptocurrencies and IEOs Up, ICOs and Venture Funding for Blockchain Down

InWara, a firm specializing in the analysis of cryptocurrency/token offerings and “blockchain” startups has issued its “Half-Yearly report — H1 2019: Deciphering Token Offerings-IEOs, STOs and ICOs.” The firm is seeing interest in new types of tokens (IEOs and STOs) but significant drops for ICOs (many projects… Read More

France Expected to Approve First Round of Regulatory Compliant Initial Coin Offerings

France will soon reveal its first round of regulatory-compliant initial coin offerings (ICOs) according to a report. The ICOs come following a months-long discussion and conclusion of bespoke legislation to allow for digital assets to be issued and traded which are not deemed to be… Read More

Pleasure and Pain: the Challenges of Running a Blockchain Company

There’s no doubt blockchain is a revolutionary technology changing what is possible in many areas of modern life. However, there are both pleasures and pains in being early adopters and forming a company based on blockchain technology. Security and flexibility are offset by regulation and… Read More

Expose of White Paper Writers Shows Dismal Integrity in Initial Coin Offering (ICO) Promotions

“Money must be made,” says white paper writer Adefemi Yusuff Adegoke. And though Adegoke won’t allow his name to go on a “crappy” project, he and other writers are willing to generate the compelling white paper used to attract investors nonetheless. That these papers often… Read More

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