Tagged: initial coin offerings

With “Looming” Regulatory Enforcement, Compliant NFT Securitization Comes “Front and Center” with GUARDD, Dalmore and PPEX

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is watching. It likely will not be long before the first enforcement action against a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) issuer is announced. The 80+ enforcement actions the regulators have taken to date on cryptocurrency, digital assets, and Initial Coin… Read More

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

Crypto Advocate John McAfee Indicted for Fraud and Money Laundering. McAfee Allegedly Engaged in Crypto Pump and Dump Scams

John David McAfee, a well-known crypto proponent and founder of the McAfee antivirus firm, has been indicted in Federal court for fraud and money laundering. According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, McAfee and Jimmy Gale Watson, Jr,… 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

An “Investor Revolt” and Legal Dispute Might Further Delay Filecoin (FIL) Launch, Anonymous Investors Claim

An “investor revolt” and legal dispute might further delay the launch of Filecoin, a highly-anticipated cryptocurrency project that broke the all-time record of capital raised via controversial initial coin offerings (ICOs) when it secured $257 million+ by September 2017. (Filecoin’s record was later shattered by… 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

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

Since January, the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers Has Whitelisted Just ONE ICO

France has been recognized as quickly crafting a digital asset friendly regulatory environment while some other jurisdictions struggled to move. The concept of digital securities and non-security crypto assets found support from policymakers and a law was enacted to create a structure for initial coin… 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

So Far, Not a Single ICO has been White-Listed by the Autorite des Marches in France

The “Loi Pacte” was approved by the French government earlier this year. the new law included multiple policy moves designed to improve the overall competitiveness of the French economy. As part of the legislation, France created bespoke rules for initial coin offerings. Under French law,… 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

NASAA Reports Increase in Cryptocurrency Fraud Identified by State & Provincial Regulators

130 Crypto Investigations Have Been Launched in the US and Canada The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), the lobbying association representing state and provincial securities regulators, says there has been an increase in crypto-related fraud as “investors and con artists alike have returned to… 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

Rwandan Central Bank Issues Warning Against “Pyramid Schemes, Network Marketing Programs and Scam Coins”

John Rwangombwa, Governor National Bank of Rwanda (BNR), has issued a notice alerting Rwandan citizens, “to the existence of investments scam(s)…operating in Rwanda (through locally-registered businesses or from abroad through online platforms).” The warning also states that pyramid, multi-level marketing and fake initial coin offering… Read More

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission Updates Information on ICOs and Crypto Assets: Operate Lawfully

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has updated regulatory information pertaining to initial coin offerings (ICOs) and crypto-assets. In a release, ASIC recommended that businesses engaged in crypto “consider their legal obligations and satisfy themselves they are operating lawfully.” ASIC stated that their recent… Read More

Loi Pacte: France to Allow Initial Coin Offerings which are Not Securities Beginning in June

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Crowdfund Insider has just received a note that the Loi Pacte (Pacte Law) has been finalized and will become actionable beginning in June. The new regulatory regime will enable initial coin offering (ICO) issuers to raise capital online and sell digital assets which are not… 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

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