Navigating grey areas
On Monday, North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced Operation Cryptosweep: one of the largest coordinated series of securities enforcement actions ever. If you have been following the crypto space over the last two years, this should not come as a surprise. In fact, it was inevitable. Still, the scope of Operation Cryptosweep is massive.
What is the legal nature of Bitcoin? According to a Dutch Court judgement, bitcoin possesses the characteristics of property rights. Could this be a game changer for the legal status of Bitcoin worldwide? And what does the EU have to say about it?
The European Commission held a roundtable discussion on the impact, potential and challenges of cryptocurrencies. Afterwards, the commission presented its conclusions and recommendations for the future.
Last week, Blockchain at Berkely, a student organization dedicated to the promotion of blockchain research, held its first major blockchain event. One panel in particular drew my attention. You guessed it: it’s the legal blockchain panel.
During a speech at the Institute on Securities Regulation, the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, made a statement about a very important issue that might determine the future of ICO’s: Is an ICO an offering of a security or not?
The SEC has warned celebrities not to advertise ICO’s. The advertisement of ICO’s may be a violation of anti-touting provisions, make the person liable for potential violations of the anti-fraud provisions, for participating in the promotion of an unregistered offer and sale of securities and make the person liable for acting as an unregistered broker.
On September 8th, a bipartisan bill called the Cryptocurrency Tax Fairness Act has been introduced to the United States Congress. The Bill creates a de minimis threshold of $600 for the purpose of capital gains taxation. Moreover, it poses a requirement on the Treasury Department to issue guidelines for informational reporting on digital currency transactions for which capital gains is due.