Hong Kong financial regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), has announced that tokens issued via initial coin offerings (ICOs) may be classified as securities; the classification may extend beyond ICOs into digital asset exchanges dealing in the tokens. Source
Chinese authorities on Monday ordered a ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs); a PBoC statement ordered that ICO activities should be halted starting from Monday, and ICO platforms should not engage in exchange services between fiat currencies, virtual coins and tokens; two of China's leading ICO platforms, ICOAGE and ICOINFO, had already halted services before the official statement came out. Source
Its platform focused on funding from fans for internet celebrities on YouTube, Twitch and other live streaming platforms; in August it raised 119.5 ether which is about $47,000; the SEC notified Protostarr of its investigation however a final status has not been reported; the firm says forming a legal department to manage the ICO investigation and potential need for registration is not within its short-term plans and it will refund its ICO investors. Source
Jay Clayton's statements suggest that firms using ICOs may need to register them with the SEC; he stated in a speech on Wednesday, "I have yet to see an ICO that doesn’t have a sufficient number of hallmarks of a security."; there have been more than 160 ICOs to date which have raised over $3 billion. Source
Overstock.com launches a joint venture with RenGen and Argon Group for an automated trading system for tokens via ICOs; according to Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne the JV will be the first platform to meet regulatory requirements of both the SEC and Finra. Source.
The Global Digital Asset Exchange or GDAX is looking to list initial coin offerings that have thus far shown some level of success; the exchange has started too come under pressure to increase listings as investor interest in ICOs continues to stay red hot; as they try to meet demand they also want to be sure to not list too many and end up having startups that don’t deliver; GDAX is looking for track record of success, real world implementation and helps to create an open financial system. Source.
China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) is now consulting some blockchain companies on ICOs, China Business News exclusively reports; now it is in the phase of collecting suggestions and having discussions; CSRC will particularly keep tabs on the fraud projects that raise money in the guise of cryptocurrencies and ICOs. Source (Chinese)
The companies are grouped into 16 categories with total average fundraising from all 100 companies of $14 million; year to date ICO fundraising is at $1.5 billion with the top fundraisings from Filecoin and Tezos; in the US, most are falling within the SEC's definition of securities issuances, with the prevalent testing measure being the Howey Test. Source
The SEC's report on ICOs as securities has prompted ShapeShift to review the listings on its cryptocurrency exchange; ShapeShift will likely delist some of its traded listings and says it does not want to be characterized as a securities exchange; ShapeShift and its legal counsel will apply the Howey Test to the cryptocurrency listings which is the current market standard also used by the SEC for determining whether an offering is considered a security. Source
Initial coin offerings (ICOs) raised $550 million in June, surpassing the angel and early stage venture capital fundraising for internet businesses globally; several factors could potentially slow the fundraising trend including security issues and a report from the Securities and Exchange Commission; despite some new challenges, ICO fundraising data shows the offerings also ahead of angel and early stage funding in July. Source