Blockchain Unconference – by the WTIA Cascadia Blockchain Council

Free to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blockchain-unconference-tickets-114448921806

October 14, 2020 9:00 am – 1:30 pm

Valerie Dahiya and Lowell Ness present “Tokenized Securities” – which can be viewed below:

 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub) published a framework on April 3, 2019, for analyzing whether a digital asset is offered and sold as a security under the federal securities laws.

The framework includes “common sense guidance” that provides greater detail and clarity regarding the application

On October 18, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced the launch of the agency’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub).[1]  FinHub is a resource for industry engagement between financial technology companies (fintechs), market participants, the public, and the SEC.  This client update provides a high-level overview of the FinHub initiative and how the SEC envisions industry participation.

FinHub is designed to serve as a focal point for the SEC to engage with fintech companies.  Led by Valerie A. Szczepanik, Senior Advisor for Digital Assets and Innovation and Associate Director in the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, FinHub provides a portal where the public can engage directly with SEC staff, request a meeting, and receive updates and information about upcoming initiatives.  The SEC’s expectation is that FinHub will provide a clear path for entrepreneurs, developers, and their advisers to engage SEC staff, seek input, and test ideas.  The FinHub portal covers various fintech topics, such as distributed ledger technology (including digital assets), automated investment advice, digital marketplace financing, and artificial intelligence/machine learning.  FinHub also offers a detailed request form, accessible here, that allows submission of background information and supporting documents for a meeting request or request for other assistance.

Continue Reading SEC Launches FinHub for Engaging with Fintech and Blockchain Companies

From Uncertainty toward Regulatory Clarity: Senior SEC Officials Provide Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets

Summary is below, please click here for the full alert narrative.

On June 14, 2018, the Director of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission delivered a speech outlining the framework used by the SEC Staff in

The SEC is targeting ICOs once again, but it is now adding more focus through its new Enforcement Division Cyber Unit.

  • In its enforcement settlement with Munchee, Inc., the SEC looked past the utility of a “utility token” in its “securities” analysis and instead focused on aspects such as marketing and the existence of a

On May 2, 2016, during a keynote address at Consensus 2016, Jack Markell – Governor of Delaware from 2009 to 2017 – announced a comprehensive program to provide an enabling regulatory and legal environment for the development of blockchain technology in Delaware.

As part of this initiative, Delaware implemented distributed ledger technology for the Delaware Public Archives, as the beta test for the technology within State government. This smart records technology automates compliance with laws pertaining to retention and destruction of archival documents, among other features.

Continue Reading Delaware Law Embraces Digital Securities

On July 25, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released groundbreaking materials relating to blockchain tokens. These materials provide significant and welcome insight to the SEC’s and its staff’s thinking in this area, although they leave a number of important questions unanswered.

The SEC released a detailed investigative report under Section 21(a)

On December 1st the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against bitcoin mining companies GAW Miners and ZenMiner, and their founder Homero Joshua Garza.  The complaint alleges Garza and his companies fraudulently sold $19 million worth of unregistered securities, called Hashlets, to over 10,000 investors in the latter half of 2014.  The SEC believes Hashlets constitute “investment contracts, and thus ‘securities’” under the Exchange Act and the Securities Act.
Continue Reading Are Mining Pool Interests Securities?

On February 27, 2015, California Assembly member Matt Dababneh (D – Encino) introduced AB 1326, which would require virtual currency businesses to be licensed by the Department of Business Oversight (DBO).  To get licensed, businesses must pay $5,000 to register, provide detailed information (including audited financials for the most recent year) and keep a specified amount of funds (established case by case by the Commissioner of the DBO) in certain types of investment-grade permissible investments, which excludes virtual currencies.
Continue Reading California Legislature Proposes Virtual Currency License