IN case you missed it, Erik Voorhees has been fined $50K and barred for 5 years from offering bitcoin securities for breaking SEC regulations:
SEC Division of Enforcement director Andrew Ceresney reiterated that entrepreneurs need to remember that the agency’s regulations still apply to bitcoin-related ventures, saying:
“All issuers selling securities to the public must comply with the registration provisions of the securities laws, including issuers who seek to raise funds using bitcoin."http://www.coindesk.com/sec-eric-voorhees-deal-unauthorized-securities-sales/Please note that the issuer of the security was targeted here, not the exchange (at least not yet), so forget the argument that because Havelock or whatever exchange is located in some fiscal paradise, or even if it is decentralized, that EU or US laws dont apply. Thats hogwash if those securities are being offered to investors in the US or EU. Ive been saying that for years now.
Erik got off extremely cheaply IMO, but thats besides the point. Id suggest you all think what will happen to
your bitcoin investments if or when the issuer gets targeted, be it by the US SEC or similar organizations in EU, Japan and elsewhere. A hint of those consequences is offered by what Gigaminng had to do after GLBSE shut down, or the arrangement Ken Slaughter of active mining made with local authorities.
Of course, this being the bitcointalk security subforum, feel free to just carry on as usual
