Ever since the agency’s crackdown on initial coin offerings, the only way to participate in the private capital markets used to raise money for startups is to meet the definition of an “accredited investor”—which boiled down to “be a millionaire” for individuals and “entities” with at least $5 million.
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Telegram CEO Pavel Durov can't be smiling after yesterday's ruling (Photo: Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)Court to Telegram: $1.7 billion gram token sale is likely illegal
The Securities and Exchange Commission has a ‘substantial likelihood’ of winning an ICO test case against the messaging app firm’s planned sale of gram tokens for its TON blockchain
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction stopping Telegram's planned resale of $1.7 billion in gram tokens, saying it is "part of a larger scheme to distribute those Grams into a secondary public market."
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SEC’s Crypto Mom: Daddy’s Ferrari doesn’t make you a sophisticated investor
The Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to open non-public cryptocurrency sales to less-wealthy investors who know what they’re doing
The Securities and Exchange Commission wants to make it easier to become a sophisticated investor. The term is, technically, “accredited investor,” and currently, it translates roughly to “rich.” Since the agency’s crackdown on ICOs, accredited investors have been a primary way to raise money in the cryptocurrency market. Under the Securities Act of 1933’s Regulation D, it is far easier to sell securities to individuals and businesses that meet this standard. The problem with “accredited investors” that the agency feels it needs to solve is summed up nicely in a Dec. 18 statement by the ever-quotable Commissioner Hester Peirce, also known as “Crypto Mom” for her industry advocacy. “Our current definition includes investors that…
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Brooklyn Nets star Spencer Dinwiddie's latest crypto foray is a savings and loan platform (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)Spencer Dinwiddie plans rebound from NBA $13.5 million tokenization rejection
The Brooklyn Nets star guard plans to meet with the league to argue that selling a cryptocurrency backed by his $34 million contract doesn’t violate NBA rules
Despite league opposition, Brooklyn Nets star and cryptocurrency enthusiast Spencer Dinwiddie hasn’t given up on plans to tokenize his $34.4 million contract and sell it to investors on the Ethereum blockchain. On September 26, Dinwiddie announced plans to offer tokens worth up to $13.5 million of his three-year contract to investors, trading up-front cash for his per-game payments. His contract is guaranteed, so investors would not lose their money if he is injured. The next day, the NBA told Dinwiddie that the plan violated the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the National Basketball Players Association, which says a player cannot “assign or otherwise transfer” his salary, the New York Times…