In which an ICO promoter (and scammer, but I repeat myself) makes the argument that tokens are not securities and gets dunked on by a judge lucidly and at length:
courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
(It's the September 11th document here if that link expires: courtlistener.com/docket/6317033… )
courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
(It's the September 11th document here if that link expires: courtlistener.com/docket/6317033… )
The judge kicks the ultimate issue to the finder-of-fact (summary dismissals are basically "Is there no set of alleged facts which would be sufficient to satisfy legal requirements here?") but it's a brief and pretty readable application of the Howey test.
The Howey test determines whether something is a security / security offering for the purpose of triggering the US' substantial regulations of security offerings.
Are ICOs securities offerings? Spoiler alert: yes, of course they are. There is no serious dispute of that.
Are ICOs securities offerings? Spoiler alert: yes, of course they are. There is no serious dispute of that.
Most discussions of it are analogous to: "Is water a chemical? Well, water could also be a *metaphor*; poets throughout the ages have..."
