One Year after the “DAO Report” Three U.S. Courts Begin to Provide Crypto-Clarity
By Clifford C. Histed and Nicole C. Mueller
One year ago today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published the “DAO Report” which concluded that certain tokens issued in an initial coin offering (“ICO”) were securities under the Supreme Court decision SEC v. W.J. Howey Co. The Report stated that whether an ICO is a security offering will depend on the facts and circumstances, including the economic realities of the transaction. Confusion, private lawsuits, SEC enforcement actions, and even criminal prosecutions ensued, but three courts are about to provide clarity.