An initial coin offering (ICO) is a capital raising mechanism whereby companies sell bitcoins to investors or buyers in exchange for funds. (Usman Chohan, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs): Risks, Regulation, and Accountability). An ICO is different from traditional capital raises. Rather than selling shares of stock in a company, an ICO offers digital currencies or cryptocurrencies. In addition, most ICOs do not offer equity or a stake in the company’s projects. The concept of using ICOs to raise capital has grown exponentially in recent years as they pose a cost-efficient way of conducting transactions with little regulation. ICOs, however, also pose a greater risk of fraud due to their place in the unregulated market.
Read MoreThe regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies is fast paced, ever-changing, and hard to pin down (see Element Group report). To understand why governments are interested in regulating cryptocurrencies, background about their potential function is necessary. Cryptocurrencies enormous potential comes from the use of “public ledgers” which, through a complicated application of cryptology and software, reduce transaction costs associated with value transfer by creating independently verifiable transaction validations. The public ledger system, however, only documents transactions and ownership. The only identity recorded on the ledger is "a set of letters and numbers . . . representing the [user's] public cryptocurrency address."
Read MoreUnlike other currencies and monetary systems that rely on a centralized authority, such as banks, to track transactions, maintain records, and ensure balances remain accurate and current; cryptocurrencies operate without any type of centralized reporting system. Instead, cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, utilize a decentralized network to verify and confirm transactions, track balances, flawlessly store and maintain records, and even generate new currency. While the exact manner in which this is accomplished is extremely technical and complex, it essentially boils down to giving every node, or peer, on the network access to all the records, including balances.
Read MoreWith the popularity and growth of cryptocurrencies many companies are using initial coin offerings (“ICOs”) to raise capital. ICOs allow investors to exchange typical currency for a coin or token. The ICO market continues to grow—in 2017 an estimated $4 billion was raised through ICOs. (Jay Clayton, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission). So far, 2018 has seen $2 billion raised through ICOs. (David Sacks and Josh Stein, Harbor). Funding a venture through a cryptocurrency gives companies and individuals the ability to make transfers regardless of geographic location, and it has lower transaction costs than traditional financing methods. Using cryptocurrencies, however, also has drawbacks—mainly anonymity of purchasers and sellers coupled with a lack of government regulation.
Read MoreThe rise of blockchain and cryptocurrency has taken the financial world by storm. In 2017, various companies and financial firms raised capital through initial coin offerings(“ICO”). As cryptocurrency becomes more politically popular, world economic powers are faced with an important question: how do we regulate cryptocurrency? Currently, regulatory approaches vary from country to country. Outside of the core desire to remove anonymity and push adherence to tax laws, government actions have been anything but consistent. (see Element Group report). While the current cryptocurrency regulatory landscape is in flux, this article addresses recent trends and responses to the crypto explosion around the globe.
Read MoreAccording to CoinMarketCap, as of July 24, 2018 the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies was just shy of $303 billion with Bitcoin’s market capitalization at $140 billion (17.1 million coins in circulation), down from a high of $828 billion and $294 billion, respectively, in early January 2018.
A recent report in the Financial Times indicates that there are approximately 1,600 individual investors (generally thought to be high net worth individuals), known as “Bitcoin whales” who hold one-third of the Bitcoins in circulation, and of those, approximately 100 investors own between 10,000 and 100,000 Bitcoin each in their wallets.
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