Tagged: perspective

May 6, 2018 @ 4:15 pm By Alan Yong  |  

  The so-called dotcom era that lasted from 1997 to 2001 was an epic period for tech industry hype. It was a veritable Wild West for tech-oriented businesses, where it sometimes seemed like investor money all but grew on trees for the many start-up firms… 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

April 27, 2018 @ 4:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a speech delivered this week at the Eurofi Summit, Commissioner Brian Quintenz, of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), addressed the topic of cryptocurrencies and digital tokens. Specifically, Quintez posed the question as to what should the proper role of a regulator be in… Read More

April 27, 2018 @ 10:29 am By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Reserve of St. Louis recently published a paper entitled “The Case for Central Bank Electronic Money and the Non-case for Central Bank Cryptocurrencies. In brief, authors Aleksandr Berentsen and Fabian Schär don’t think much about central bank utilization of crypto. The duo states:… Read More

April 26, 2018 @ 7:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Revolut revealed its most recent funding round today as it raised $250 million at a valuation of $1.7 billion. In many ways, the success of Revolut is emblematic of the power and potential of investment crowdfunding. Until today’s Series C round, each successive funding round… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 5:41 pm By Carlos Domingo  |  

The crypto industry is in transition. The relatively young space that is built on an exciting, new technology platform called blockchain, or decentralized ledger technology (DLT), has enjoyed the attention of invigorated developers and investors. These players are working to define the future of the… 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

April 23, 2018 @ 9:57 am By JD Alois  |  

It is a truism that we need bank like services but we really do not need banks. The financial industry is going through a period of disaggregation where some services are being separated from a traditional, brick and mortar service, to Fintech verticals that may… Read More

April 23, 2018 @ 7:32 am By David Felsenthal and Jesse Overall  |  

In this article we discuss a number of lessons that we believe issuers of digital tokens can draw from recent enforcement actions brought by federal and state securities regulators. But we first need to define the perimeter we will be covering. There has been a… Read More

April 20, 2018 @ 3:01 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Well-known “Bitcoin Maximalist” and despiser of ICO’s (Initial Coin Offerings) Tone Vays has lately been so deluged with idiotic requests to advise on ICO’s that he has updated his LinkedIn profile to the following: “I am NOT interested in your ICO/Token Sale. Please send all requests… Read More

April 16, 2018 @ 1:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Speaking at Vanderbilt University Law School this past week, Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo made some interesting comments. Giancarlo, a Commodore Alum, spoke about the digitization of finance (Fintech) and the subject of virtual currencies. Giancarlo reflected on time spent with… Read More

April 15, 2018 @ 1:49 pm By Aziz Bin Zainuddin  |  

2018 has been a miserable year for cryptocurrencies, as prices have dropped by as much as 70% since their highs since the start of the year. The market capitalization of the entire cryptocurrency market fell from a little over $800 billion in January to a… Read More

April 13, 2018 @ 1:27 am By Cali Haan  |  

French philosopher Roland Barthes once stated, “The world is a forest of signs.” Every object was a sign, he believed, and behind it lay a world of meaning. At at recent blockchain conference in Toronto, one entrepreneur presented her product to help, “Navigate the Token… Read More

April 12, 2018 @ 6:43 pm By Marina Evseeva  |  

As recently noted by Omkar Godbole, only two of the top 25 cryptocurrencies, VeChain’s VET token and Binance coin (BNB), saw gains in the first quarter of this year. That fact really gave me pause for thought. Stepping back from the hype and speculation, in… Read More

April 12, 2018 @ 1:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) “stormed” Washington, DC this past week as community bankers from across the country urged much needed regulatory reform. The ICBA pronounced the “excessive and unnecessary regulation is stifling their ability to meet the needs of local communities.” As part… Read More

April 11, 2018 @ 3:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently published a note stating they are aware of a growing number of UK firms issuing cryptocurrencies or digital assets associated with initial coin offerings. These vehicles are currently not directly regulated but the FCA, and other policy types,… Read More

April 9, 2018 @ 10:41 am By JD Alois  |  

In the Fall of 2017, the US Department of Treasury published a document entitled, “A Financial System That Creates Economic Opportunities – Capital Markets.” This comprehensive overview of the current regulatory environment regarding capital formation is probably the best publication I have ever seen produced… Read More

April 8, 2018 @ 9:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

The 36 Annual SEC Small Government Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation took place last November in Austin, Texas. This past week, the SEC published the final report which includes the list of recommendations as prioritized by the participants in this yearly gathering between… Read More

April 3, 2018 @ 4:59 am By Barry James  |  

We are entering the era of the digital token.  Or to put it another way a new kind of frictionless economy based on an a new internet of value. We’re already beyond the point of no-return – the ‘token event horizon’ is already well behind… Read More

April 2, 2018 @ 6:00 am By Andy Bromberg, Georgia Quinn & Regan Bozman  |  

  To date, fundraising has been blockchain’s killer app. In 2017, Initial Coin Offering (ICO) fundraising eclipsed that of traditional venture capital, and in 2018, ICOs have already raised nearly $3 billion in non-dilutive funding. This new form of early-stage financing is incredibly promising, at… Read More