On September 30, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that blockchain 
developer Block.one had agreed to pay a $24 million fine to settle charges that it had engaged in an unregistered offering of securities in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act. The announcement set off a mini-firestorm of criticism in the crypto
Telegram TRO Sends Strong Message to Digital Token Issuers
On October 11, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) announced 
it filed a complaint and obtained a temporary restraining order against Telegram Group Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary TON Issuer Inc. (collectively, “Telegram”) relating to Telegram’s offering of tokens without registration in violation of the Federal securities laws. The action sends a strong
WeWork, SoftBank and Anti-Dilution Protection
The corporate spectacle better known as The We Company IPO officially and mercifully came
to an end September 30 when The We Company (“We Co.”), the corporate parent of WeWork, requested that the Securities and Exchange Commission consent to the withdrawal of We Co.’s registration statement because it “no longer wishes to conduct a public
First Qualified Regulation A Token Offering: Will “$2 Million Contribution to Crypto Industry” be Precedent Setting?
On July 10, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission 
declared Blockstack PBC’s offering statement “qualified”, thus allowing Blockstack to commence the distribution and sale of its Stacks Tokens under Regulation A. This is the first offering of digital tokens to be qualified by the Commission under Regulation A, a significant milestone for the blockchain industry
SEC Exempt Offering Concept Release Seeks Comment on Ideas to Ease Restrictions on Sales to Non-Accredited Investors
Non-accredited investors are estimated to constitute approximately 92% of the U.S. population. Yet 
restrictive rules governing exempt offerings have significantly limited their freedom to invest in private offerings and prevented or discouraged issuers from selling them privately offered securities. But in a recently issued concept release, the Securities and Exchange Commission has signaled a
Founder Fraud Case Study: Roundtrip Contracts and Other Revenue Recognition Schemes
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint last week against the founder of venture-backed
mobile payments startup Jumio, Inc., charging him with causing the company to prepare false and misleading financial statements that inflated the company’s earnings and gross margins and with defrauding secondary market purchasers of his shares. The founder, Daniel Mattes, agreed
Power Lyfting: Lyft IPO is Latest in Trend Giving Founders Disproportionate Voting Power
Lyft, Inc. last week completed its highly anticipated initial public offering, raising over $2.3 billion at a valuation of approximately $25 billion, and turning its co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer into near billionaires on paper. But that’s not the only reason they’re smiling. Despite owning only 7% of the outstanding pre-IPO shares, Green and
Behind 2018’s Boom Year for Venture Capital
2018 was a historically good year for venture capital in the United States in terms of dollars invested by VC funds in U.S.
companies, dollars raised by VC funds and dollar value of exits by VC-backed companies, according to the Venture Monitor for Q4 2018 published by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. VC
In my Backyard: Real Estate Developers can Use Equity Crowdfunding both to Fund Projects and Convert Opposition
Real estate developers should seriously consider equity crowdfunding to fund development projects for two
major reasons, one of which has little or nothing to do with money. The first reason is that new securities offering legislation enacted in 2012 creates new legal capital raising pathways which allow developers for the first time to use the