The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an order last week declaring an ICO token to be a security and hence subject to corresponding regulation.  Following on from its similar ruling with respect to The DAO on July 25th, the SEC held that Munchee Inc.’s efforts to promote its supposed “utility token” so emphasized the […]

On Friday, December 1st, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) agreed to allow trading of bitcoin derivatives on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE), and the Cantor Exchange. The CME and CFE both self-certified new contracts for bitcoin futures, while the Cantor Exchange self-certified a new contract for binary options on […]

In light of recent news of an arrest for alleged fraudulent activity in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), it's worth taking a step back and considering the legal status of ICOs as a method of raising money. First, a quick word on ICOs. One way for a company to raise funds is to issue stock that may […]

As of September 29, 2017, the SEC charged businessman Maksim Zaslavskiy and his two companies, REcoin Group Foundation and DRC (Diamond Reserve Club) World, with defrauding investors via a scheme involving two faux ICO’s (initial coin offerings) backed by nonexistent investments in real estate and diamonds. This event is particularly significant because it appears to […]

On September 27th Overstock.com’s blockchain-focused investment subsidiary Medici Ventures announced that its very own alternative trading system (ATS) will be open for business for any initial coin offering (ICO) in need of a new place to trade per the new SEC guidelines. This platform was initiated via a joint venture between Medici’s capital markets branch […]

The controversial birth of Bitcoin Cash on August 1 has created a fundamental crossroads for both the users of the popular cryptocurrency along with its underlying technology. What could amount to trillion dollar questions are now being asked about the future of Bitcoin that are as much philosophical in nature as they are practical in […]

On August 2nd, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) launched itself into the Bitcoin market worth tens of billions of dollars via an announcement that left many of the cryptocurrency’s users jumping for joy. This announcement revealed that the CBOE has entered into an exclusive global license with Gemini Trust Company to use Gemini’s Bitcoin […]