Sunday Letter

List of regulators who have publically commented on ICOs

Dear reader, Cryptocurrencies are a hot topic now. Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) are the sale of a new token, in much the same way that an Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the sale of shares in a company to the public.

Many view ICOs as circumventing existing securities laws. The SEC has recently announced that ICOs that meet the Howey Test will be deemed to be securities.

What are the positions of various regulators around the world?

  • Brazil’s equivalent of the SEC, the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), published (July 13th) initial legislation instruction (Instrução CVM No. 588) regulating crowdfunding via ICOs: (Portuguese announcement)
  • The United States SEC published on July 25th on ICOs: (Report on investigation) (Investor bulletin) (Investor alert)
  • Monetary Authority of Singapore published its views on August 1st on ICOs: (Clarification statement) (Consumer advisory)
  • Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), including the Ontario Securities Commission, published its views on August 24th on ICOs: (Staff Notice) (Announcement)
  • Israel Securities Authority announced on August 30th that it is forming a committee to look at ICOs: (Hebrew announcement) (English)
  • The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) in South Korea announced on September 3rd that it held a joint task force meeting to strengthen regulations around digital currency trading, including fundraising with ICOs: (BusinessKorea)
  • Central Bank of Russia issued a public statement on September 4th that included its views on ICOs: (Russian announcement) (English)
  • The People’s Bank of China, along with 6 other Chinese government bodies including the national securities regulator (CSRC), publicly banned ICO fundraising in China on September 4th: (CN announcement) (English) (Bloomberg) (Reuters)
  • SFC in Hong Kong announced its views on ICOs on September 5th: (Announcement)
  • The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that it was keeping a close eye on ICOs on September 6th: (FT) (Consumer Warning)
  • The Securities Commission (SC) of Malaysia issued a press release cautioning investors in ICOs on September 7th: (DNA)
  • The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) warned investors that ICOs were risky on September 13th: (Statement)
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission in Thailand issued some statements regarding ICOs on September 14th: (Comments)
  • Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) issued an official statement regarding ICOs on September 22nd: (Statement)
  • North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) issued its annual paper and warned of risks around cryptocurrencies and ICOs on September 26th: (Press release)
  • Macau Monetary Authority (MMA) announced that banks cannot engage with ICOs and cryptocurrencies either “directly or indirectly” on September 27th: (Statement)
  • The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released formal guidance and comments about ICOs on September 28th: (Information Sheet)
  • The Financial Services Commission in South Korea said all kinds of initial coin offerings (ICO) will be banned as trading of virtual currencies needs to be tightly controlled and monitored on September 29th: (Reuters) (Yonhap)
  • The Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) in Switzerland announced it is investigating ICO procedures and issued formal guidance on September 29th: (Press Release)
  • SEC Exposes Two Initial Coin Offerings Purportedly Backed by Real Estate and Diamonds on September 29th: (Press release)
  • Abu Dhabi’s Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) released guidelines on ICOs on October 9th: (Guidelines)
  • The Central Bank of Lithuania announced its position and guidelines regarding ICOs on October 11th: (Press release)
  • The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), through its internal division, LabCFTC, released a primer on cryptocurrencies including ICOs on October 17th: (Press release)

Yours Sincerely,
Henry Chong