Tagged: saft

Binance Labs Backs Web3 Social Network Platform Sleek’s $5m Funding

Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, has backed the $5-million Seed funding round of Web3 social network platform Sleek, according to an announcement. The funding round, which also saw participation from notable investors, including Shima Capital, Spartan Group, Symbolic Capital, Market… Read More

SEC Commissioner Peirce Disagrees with Portion of Wireline Settlement Regarding SAFT

Earlier today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) posted a settlement pertaining to Wireline and a SAFT offering that took place in 2018. According to the complaint, the SEC states that: “… between January and September 2018, Wireline, an early-stage project focused on the development… Read More

Telegram to Refund Money from GRAM ICO? Perhaps.

Last Thursday, a letter posted on the Russian website of SmartLab said that Telegram will offer GRAM purchasers the option to receive their money back as the deadline for the issuance of the tokens had passed. Telegram has been in an ongoing legal battle with… Read More

Telegram ICO: A Two-Phase Offering Does Not Inoculate an ICO from Federal Securities Law

As we have previously reported, Telegram is engaged in a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in what may be the biggest SEC cryptocurrency case yet.  One the one side, you have Telegram that raised over a billion dollars from a digital… Read More

Blockchain Development Firm Hedera Hashgraph to Allow HBAR Token Holders to Earn Rewards by Locking Tokens

Blockchain development company Hedera Hashgraph announced recently that their platform’s HBAR tokens can be locked by their holders, in order to earn rewards in digital currency. According to Hedera’s December 23 blog post, the new incentive program will begin early next year. HBAR holders that… Read More

Breaking Down Kik’s Fight Against the SEC and their $100 Million ICO

Kik Interactive Inc. (“Kik”), a company based in Canada, raised close to $100 million selling Kin tokens during the initial coin offering (ICO) boom of 2017, making it one of the most successful ICOs. It first sold tokens to accredited investors through a SAFT (Simple… Read More

Hedera Hashgraph Files Form D with SEC: Reports $104 Million Raised in SAFT Offering

Hedera Hashgraph, a company pursuing a speedy iteration of blockchain that is enterprise ready, has filed an updated Form D with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to the Reg D 506c filing, Hedera has raised $104,467,509 from 985 different investors. The offering is for… Read More

Creation of an ICO Safe Harbor Would Provide a Zone of Regulatory Certainty in a Market Flooded with Questionable Compliance

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

Initial Coin Offerings: Why the SAFT is DEAD …

Investment in the cryptocurrency industry is currently dominated by the use of Simple Agreements for Future Tokens (SAFTs). While SAFTs were a somewhat novel approach when they were introduced, now that cryptocurrency assets have become almost universally deemed “securities” by the SEC, the use of… Read More

Kodak 10-K Shares Insight into KodakCOIN Cryptocurrency and Relationship with Wenn Digital

Earlier this month, Kodak (NYSE:KODK) filed a 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Buried within the Kodak Annual Report was further details into Kodak’s relationship with Wenn Digital, KODAKOne and the KODAKCoin initial coin offering. According to the filing, Wenn purchased a license… Read More

Bad News: SAFTs May Not Be “Compliant” After All

The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly sent a wave of subpoenas and information requests to companies engaged in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). The SEC scrutiny is perhaps not surprising, given that, as Crowdfund Insider writes, “if you invest in an ICO, the play… Read More

How to Respond to an SEC Subpoena: The Top Ten Tips for Cryptocurrency Entities

  For initial coin offering (ICOs or token offerings, SAFT, etc.) issuers, investors, token holders, and anyone else operating in the cryptocurrency market, the message of recent days is clear: the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has shifted into high gear. News reports indicate that… Read More

Live from Polycon: Polymath Syncs with DataBroker DAO, OneLedger & Rupie

Polymath, seeking to disrupt investment banking with its industry-first security token issuance platform, has partnered with video gaming community platform Rupie; enterprise blockchain solution provider OneLedger; and P2P IoT sensor data marketplace DataBroker DAO to provide advice and counsel on the design and execution of each partner’s upcoming Initial… Read More

Co-Founder Rafael Cosman: TrustToken Is an Asset Tokenization Platform Backed by Real Assets that Democratize Access Both to Investment Opportunities & Capital

In late January, TrustToken, a global platform for tokenizing fiat currencies and real-world assets backed by Stanford-StartX, FJ Labs, and BlockTower Capital, launched TrueUSD, reportedly the first fiat-backed stablecoin to offer token-holders legally protected certificates of ownership of US Dollars. Co-founded by CTO Rafael Cosman, CEO… Read More

Marco Santori Departs Cooley to Join Blockchain as President & Chief Legal Officer

Marco Santori, formerly a Partner at Cooley, LLP and author of the controversial SAFT or Simple Agreement for Future Tokens, has joined Blockchain as President and Chief Legal Officer.  In the past, Santori has been labeled “the Dean of Digital Currency Lawyers” by some and… Read More

Everybody is Going to Do It: Indiegogo / Microventures Lists first Initial Coin Offering with Fan Controlled Football League

The opportunity is simply too strong to resist. The rapid rise of tokenized securities and the booming initial coin offering market is compelling crowdfunding platforms to reposition provide issuers the platform they demand. As the United States is the top ICO issuer in the world,… Read More

ICOs: The Dual Token Conundrum

It is clear that the SEC is going to do an enforcement action against a number of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), and the people who are selling utility tokens to investors for Bitcoin or Ether cryptocurrencies. Most ICOs are conducted by companies that have not… Read More

Cardozo Blockchain Project Publishes New SAFT Approach for ICOs, Provides Regulatory Alternative for Nascent Token Market

The Cardozo Blockchain Project is an initiative from Cardozo Law School that seeks to address the legal issues and challenges related to Blockchain technology and the fast emerging Initial Coin Offering market. The project is directed by Prof. Aaron Wright but includes the input and… Read More

The SEC, the ICO and Avoiding the ICU: A Call for Leadership and Action

As a securities lawyer and a sometimes advocate for smart regulation of capital formation, I must confess: When it comes to addressing the current state of the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) marketplace, I believe that market participants face a crisis of growing proportions. No Hype… Read More

Joshua Klayman Shares Her Perspective on Marco Santori’s White Paper on SAFTs

Marco Santori, Fintech Team Leader at the law firm of Cooley LLP, has published a white paper tackling the issue of “Simple Agreement for Future Tokens” or SAFTs – the widely used structure for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Santori proposes a path toward a compliant framework… Read More

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