SEC announcement that it is clamping down on the “wild west” of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), has sent shockwaves through the blockchain community; particularly young companies executing token sales on Ethereum. The regulatory body released a comprehensive report into the failed DAO token project, as well as a declaration that ICOs may fall under US securities laws.
Ron Chernesky, investFeed CEO (Social trading platform dropping US equities for crypto): We welcome it, and actually think it’s a step in the right direction for the industry. Before yesterday’s announcement, it was common knowledge that ICOs have been enveloped in a regulatory grey area, but we spent a lot of our resources on best-in-class legal counsel and compliance to ensure we conducted ours right."
Perry Woodin, Node40 CEO (Blockchain accounting and governance firm): “Breakthrough advancements in technology often give way to rapid acceleration of new business ideas. The number of businesses supporting blockchain applications have exploded over the past couple of years, and with them we’ve seen new tools for raising capital. The issues that crop up during these cycles of rapid business acceleration often lead to individuals taking a chance with compliance. As we have seen with blockchain, those taking a position that their actions fall into a legal grey area are often shocked to find that compliance is black or white."
Jaron Lukasiewicz, CEO of WRKFLOW (stealth blockchain project): “The SEC had the ability to decimate the entire ICO market, and it has fortunately has provided open possibilities. I hope the commission takes the ‘facts and circumstances’ approach outlined in its report so that blockchain companies can thrive in the US. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the SEC chose to target a German company in its investigation. "
Whole article here. Any organization that is operating according to the existing laws of the land would welcome any new legal framework that may come with the end-view of protecting the investors and consumers. The latest announcement of SEC on ICO should not be taken as a hindrance but another avenue to explore. Good projects and companies can be able to comply if there is already an existing guidelines.
