On July 16 the Financial Stability Board (“FSB”) published a report establishing a framework to monitor-crypto-asset markets. The report sets out the metrics that the FSB will use to monitor crypto-asset markets in order to identify any emerging financial stability concerns in a timely manner. The FSB is an international body made up of national financial authorities, international financial institutions, and international standard-setting bodies, and monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. The…
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (“ASIC”) has released further guidance on initial coin offerings (“ICOs”) and cryptocurrency compliance through its updated Information Sheet 225 (“Info 225”). ICOs are a new form of internet based capital-raising using cryptocurrencies to purchase digital coins or tokens known as ‘crypto-assets’. With regulation struggling to keep pace with this growing area of the financial services market, Info 225 gives greater clarity on the legal status of ICOs and crypto-assets in Australia. Info…
As reported, the Philippine central bank (Bangko Sentral ng Philipinas) (“BSP”) has approved applications filed by two cryptocurrency exchange platforms to facilitate the conversion of Philippine pesos (“Pesos”) into cryptocurrencies. There are now five BSP-approved cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the Philippines. This development is undoubtedly a positive for cryptocurrency adoption in the Philippines and total Peso-to-crypto conversion volume is substantial, with around US$38 million worth of Pesos being exchanged into crypto per month in late…
A joint statement (Statement) on cryptocurrencies has been released by the National Bank of Cambodia, the Securities Exchange Commission of Cambodia and the General-Commissariat of National Police of Cambodia. The Statement reinforces that Cambodian authorities consider activities relating to cryptocurrencies (trading, settling and other activities) that are conducted without an appropriate license to be illegal. Interestingly the Statement names certain cryptocurrencies (including KH Coin, Suncoin, K Coin, One-Coin and Forex coin) that have been observed…
Thailand has moved closer to being among one of the first jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region (and globally) to facilitate ICOs through targeted regulation. According to a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (“SEC”), as reported by the Bangkok Post, five ICO projects are to be cleared by the regulator and permitted to move forward with their ICO plans (out of 50 ICO projects that applied for regulatory approval). This comes after…
On June 25 U.S. federal Chief Magistrate Judge Andrea Simonton issued a Report and Recommendation concluding that Centra Tokens, issued by tech startup Centra Tech, were investment contracts and therefore securities. There are reports in the press that this is the first time a US court has found that the issuance and sale of tokens through an ICO must comply with federal securities laws. The case in question, Rensel v. Centra Tech, Inc., is a…
Lithuania becomes the latest jurisdiction to release guidance in relation to ICOs. On 8 June 2018, the Lithuanian Government released new Guidelines to deal with what it referred to as an “explosion of ICOs” in the country. Lithuania heralds itself as a leader in FinTech and has published the ICO Guidelines as a step towards more “certainty and transparency in the regulatory, taxation [and] accounting” requirements of ICOs, and also, importantly, to encourage the crypto…
In our article for Bloomberg Law, we discuss the legal questions arising out of the announcement by William Hinman (SEC Director of the Division of Corporate Finance) that ether and bitcoin—the popular cryptocurrencies—would not qualify as securities. Numerous news organizations, as well as FinTech and cryptocurrency blogs, jumped on the announcement, reporting it as a major clarification regarding the legal status of cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings. Unfortunately, there is a real risk that, rather…
Last month we reported on an SEC decision to take additional time to consider whether to approve a request to list five Bitcoin-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on one of the New York Stock exchange markets. That pattern is now being repeated. On December 4, 2017, NYSE Arca, Inc. filed with the SEC a proposed rule change to list and trade the shares of the ProShares Bitcoin ETF and the ProShares Short Bitcoin ETF. On March…
Depending on which U.S. government agency one looks to, cryptocurrencies can be a security (per the SEC), a commodity (per the CFTC), property (per the IRS), or a form of money (per FinCEN). In a Legal Advisory issued on June 18, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics took the position that virtual currency qualifies as “property held … for investment or the production of income” under the Ethics in Government Act. As a result, Executive branch employees are…