Perhaps the biggest question on the minds of anyone involved in the crypto-space is how the world’s regulatory bodies, particularly the United States’ Securities & Exchange Commission, will classify digital assets. If the SEC rules that all instances of token fundraising constitute securities offerings, then it will bring an end to the Wild West days of ICOs.
Some argue that if the SEC rules that all token offerings are securities offerings, this will stifle innovation and entrepreneurship in the crypto-space. While this is an important consideration, we must also take in to account the proliferation of fraudulent activity surrounding token offerings. For ICOs to truly become a mainstream means of raising capital, some form of investor protection must be put in place.
Regardless of one’s personal opinion on the benefits and drawbacks of financial regulation, it appears inevitable that the SEC will soon classify at least some kinds of tokens as securities. When that occurs, issuers of said tokens will need to find an SEC-compliant platform on which to perform their ICOs.
At Consensus 2018, we interviewed Gautam Gujral and Dave Hendricks, two of the entrepreneurs behind Vertalo[1], a platform designed to be an SEC-compliant space for ICOs. Dave Hendricks is the CEO and Co-Founder of Vertalo, and Gautam Gujral is the Head Legal Advisor. Before joining Vertalo, Gautam served as Senior Legal Counsel at the SEC and Managing Director of Prime Services at Credit Suisse.
Gujral and Hendricks told us that they see the SEC implementing specific regulations on token offerings within the next couple of years.
Gujral said, “My guess—and it’s an educated guess—is that it’s going to take at least a few years for [the SEC to put a regulatory framework in place]. In the meantime, I hope that [the SEC] will take the
