Daily Reminder that All these IPOs are illegal in the United States

[Bitornio]

Draw your own conclusions guys. SEC definitely has their eyes on this forum and it wouldn't surprise me to see the ban hammer coming down on all these "developers" and their IPOs

http://gigaom.com/2014/06/03/sec-charges-owner-of-bitcoin-sites-for-selling-unregistered-securities/

[elviselvis101]

Thanks, good to know - “FeedZeBirds IPO.” says it all 

[Vann]

The SEC has also issued an advisory outlining that the members of this forum are targeted for fraudulent investments:

The SEC indicated that investors who generated significant earnings during bitcoin’s price boom in 2013 are particularly at risk of investment fraud. Additionally, participants in bitcoin forums like Bitcoin Talk face the risk of getting involved with fraudulent investments, such as an initial public offering (IPO) scheme.

http://www.coindesk.com/sec-warns-bitcoins-hype-may-put-investors-at-risk/


I think what a member of Bitcoin's core developer group said sums up these scams best:

“People have the mistaken impression that virtual currency means you can trust a random person over the Internet,” says Jeff Garzik, a member of bitcoin’s core developer group."

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/mf_bitcoin/all/1

[platorin]

We have to pass through this mad period. Essentially, one should say that 99,9% of all alt coins will die out.

[MaWo]

sorry, but who cares?
It's enough water between me an US.

[tokyoghetto]

premine - sell on exchange - what IPO your honor?

there are ways around this.

[sebastien1234]

I completely disagree with your interpretation of this.. You are quoting an article of a business that is selling securities.. Premining coins and selling them is not sale of a security but sale of coins at a lower rate, simple as that.. People call it an IPO because it's and Initial Public Offering but it certainly is not the sale of securities..

[Vann]

I completely disagree with your interpretation of this.. You are quoting an article of a business that is selling securities.. Premining coins and selling them is not sale of a security but sale of coins at a lower rate, simple as that.. People call it an IPO because it's and Initial Public Offering but it certainly is not the sale of securities..

It has nothing to do with selling securities. The problem is 'altcoin IPO's' are being sold as an unregulated “investment opportunity” and as pointed out in these SEC advisories,

In particular, individuals selling investments are typically subject to federal or state licensing requirements.

https://www.sec.gov/investor/alerts/ia_virtualcurrencies.pdf

http://investor.gov/news-alerts/investor-alerts/investor-alert-bitcoin-other-virtual-currency-related-investments

[CryptoLTD]

I would HIGHLY recommend withdrawing ANY funds any one may have from poloniex, as they are a PRIME canadate for a SEC fine, as their US based and HOST many IPO's to buy pre-mining as even mentioned on their twitter account. They cant afford to pay their customers back the stollen BTC from their hack, much less an SEC fine, and considering their an EXCHANGE based in the US, I would not doubt complete seizure. See photo Below for reference.

[brainape]

Gotta grunge against Poloniex I suppose?  No mention of Bittrex.  Lemme guess...you bought LCL.

[CryptoLTD]

Gotta grunge against Poloniex I suppose?  No mention of Bittrex.  Lemme guess...you bought LCL.

I would HIGHLY recommend withdrawing ANY funds any one may have from poloniex, as they are a PRIME canadate for a SEC fine, as their US based and HOST many IPO's to buy pre-mining as even mentioned on their twitter account. They cant afford to pay their customers back the stollen BTC from their hack, much less an SEC fine, and considering their an EXCHANGE based in the US, I would not doubt complete seizure. See photo Below for reference.

No, ive never bought an IPO, and if bittrex has offered IPO's in their pre-minable state then Ide be worried for them too. Regardless of political views ect ect, if the SEC did this to that guy, then an exchange that does it that is US based is just as much of a target, and as they hold many peoples funds in their order books.. its just a from my point of view.. be EXTREMELY cautious. No one deserves to lose funds due to being lazy ..regardless. I just see this as an obvious SEC next move.

[snapter]

This thread's subject explains this recent tweet

https://twitter.com/Poloniex/status/473231057068625920


Poloniex Exchange ‏@Poloniex

In order to raise the standards of coin IPOs, we are drafting strict requirements for any IPOs we will host in the future. Stay tuned.

3:34 PM - 1 Jun 2014

[jdh015232]

Gotta grunge against Poloniex I suppose?  No mention of Bittrex.  Lemme guess...you bought LCL.

I would HIGHLY recommend withdrawing ANY funds any one may have from poloniex, as they are a PRIME canadate for a SEC fine, as their US based and HOST many IPO's to buy pre-mining as even mentioned on their twitter account. They cant afford to pay their customers back the stollen BTC from their hack, much less an SEC fine, and considering their an EXCHANGE based in the US, I would not doubt complete seizure. See photo Below for reference.

No, ive never bought an IPO, and if bittrex has offered IPO's in their pre-minable state then Ide be worried for them too. Regardless of political views ect ect, if the SEC did this to that guy, then an exchange that does it that is US based is just as much of a target, and as they hold many peoples funds in their order books.. its just a from my point of view.. be EXTREMELY cautious. No one deserves to lose funds due to being lazy ..regardless. I just see this as an obvious SEC next move.

check DCM, just IPO about 1 hour ago on bittrex lawl
no chance, theirs ways around everything with crypto. US Gov. could not proof shit for a coin IPO, it was differant with Voorhees selling shares for SATOSHIDICE...not the same as a new coin launch(which has no value when released) being released, and the free market giving it a price all of the sudden.
so what next, the US GOV gona ban DEVS from making computer programs, because other people use their open source program they made and give the program/coin/whatever it is an intrinsic value?? please
i could make a qt client and say its just for "fun" if i IPO and ppl want to pay real money, how is that my fault?

[Bitornio]

I think a lot of you guys are misinterpreting this thread...I don't have beef with any of the exchanges, coin developers, etc...

I looked over the article and I think this should be a genuine concern for those living in the United States or those servicing USA customers. I really don't think the logistics of it matter...if you're going to call it an IPO then there is only definition as far as the law is concerned. This isn't the first time this has happened either.

[Swordsoffreedom]

We have to pass through this mad period. Essentially, one should say that 99,9% of all alt coins will die out.

I agree we are in that mad period right now
That said these IPO's would be illegal in the US but that means US investors need to be extra careful or avoid them entirely if they were to the code.

[stormia]

I think a lot of you guys are misinterpreting this thread...I don't have beef with any of the exchanges, coin developers, etc...

I looked over the article and I think this should be a genuine concern for those living in the United States or those servicing USA customers. I really don't think the logistics of it matter...if you're going to call it an IPO then there is only definition as far as the law is concerned. This isn't the first time this has happened either.

If that were the case, following your logic, they could simply call it something else and avoid this issue... which makes no sense to me.