initial coin offering – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

ASX releases Compliance Update for listed entities on cryptocurrency-related activities

Aug 30 2019

By Jim Bulling and Rebecca Gill

On 1 August 2019, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) published its Compliance Update (Update) which sets out its guidance for listed entities that are proposing to engage in cryptocurrency-related activities, being initial coin offerings (ICOs) and initial exchange offerings (IEOs).

The Update notes that many tokens offered to investors in Australia as part of an ICO or an IEO may be regulated by the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) as the tokens may constitute interests in managed investment schemes. As such, listed entities should seek legal advice prior to engaging in cryptocurrency-related activities.

What you need to know about capital raising with ICOs (Business Bytes video)

Sep 28 2017

There is a lot of noise surrounding capital raising with Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and there are updates almost daily from regulators around the globe. For instance, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released their views on ICOs today (see ‘ASIC releases its guidance on ICOs‘), while China has recently banned this new form of capital raising.

ASIC releases its guidance on ICOs

Sep 28 2017

By Jim Bulling and Felix Charlesworth

On 28 September 2017, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released Information Sheet 225 which provides its view on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and their application in relation to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) under German law

Sep 20 2017

By Hilger von Livonius and Philipp Riedl

The raising of funds for cryptocurrency projects (also called Initial Coin Offerings or ICOs) gain more and more market interest. Although there is no specific and coordinated regulatory framework applicable to ICOs, it is not something happening in a completely unregulated area.

Monetary Authority of Singapore on Initial Coin Offerings

Aug 29 2017

By Judith Rinearson and Rizwan Qayyum

On August 10, 2017, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) jointly published a Consumer Advisory document which urged consumers to exercise due diligence before investing in digital tokens, with particular emphasis on the emergence of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). In Singapore, several ICOs have taken place in the past year and this has resulted in organisations raising millions of dollars in a few days since their launch.

An ICO is a crowdfunding method, facilitated by blockchain, through which a project or venture, usually a start-up organisation, raises funding by creating and selling its own digital asset, currency or token in exchange for digital currencies or assets of immediate value such as a Bitcoin. The practice is thus far unregulated and enables a new brand of alternative finance. An ICO campaign ‘runs’ for a defined period during which investors are able to support the project, with the aspiration that this digital asset becomes successful and their investment reaps profit.

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