The creation, issuance, distribution and sale of digital assets can implicate a variety of U.S. federal and state securities laws. Whether any digital asset constitutes a “security” under U.S. laws is a highly complex, fact-driven analysis that has and is expected to evolve over time, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) generally does not provide advance guidance or confirmation on the status of any particular instrument as a security.
Recent statements by the SEC indicate that it has adopted a broad definition of what constitutes a “security” with respect to digital assets. In most cases, there is no assurance as to what conclusion the SEC or a court of competent jurisdiction would reach. As such, it is imperative that token issuers seek competent legal advice in this regard prior to conducting any token generation events. Read this whitepaper to learn more about this and other important blockchain topics.
Originally published on the Merits & Tree website.