Tag: initial coin offering

SEC Chair Clayton issues statement on cryptocurrencies and ICOs: are all ICOs securities offerings?

To SEC Chair Jay Clayton, so far, it sure appears that way. Yesterday, Clayton issued a statement on cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings, which warns that, of the ICOs that Clayton has seen promoted so far, “[b]y and large, the structures…involve the offer and sale of securities and directly implicate the securities registration requirements and other investor protection provisions of our federal securities laws.  Generally speaking, these laws provide that investors deserve to know what they are investing in and the relevant risks involved.”  This position is consistent with Clayton’s unscripted observation during his remarks at the 2017 PLI Securities Regulation Institute (see this PubCo post) that, other than pure cryptocurrency, he had yet to see an ICO that did not have some indicia of a securities offering. In his statement, he indicates that he has asked SEC Enforcement “to police this area vigorously.”