The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declared this summer that initial coin offering (ICO) tokens were subject to federal securities laws. Just recently, the regulatory agency announced that it would hold an investor advisory committee meeting on October 12 to discuss the implications of blockchain technology for securities markets.
Also read: SEC Suspends Trading of Bitcoin Firm’s Shares After 7000% Price Jump
The SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee Plans to Discuss the Implications of ICOs
In two weeks, the SEC intends to hold a committee meeting to discuss blockchains and initial coin offerings (ICOs). The meeting will be held at the SEC’s headquarters in Washington D.C. and will be open to the public. In addition to the discussion, the organization has added two new members to the investor advisory committee; Allison Bennington and Mina Nguyen. The committee was established through Section 911 of the Dodd-Frank Act and has nineteen members.
“Agenda: October 12, 2017, a meeting of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee,” explains the SEC announcement. “Discussion regarding blockchain and other distributed ledger technology and implications for securities markets.”
SEC’s Prior Warnings
The meeting this October follows the regulator’s recent warnings about ICOs and startups selling ERC-20 tokens. This year, the ICO market has raised billions so far despite having any regulatory infrastructure. Three weeks ago, the SEC agency warned of ICO schemes again and forced four firms to shut down token sale operations. The regulator even called the crowd sales “‘pump-and-dump,’ and market manipulation schemes.” Additionally, the SEC chairman, Jay Clayton, explained during a panel discussion this month that ICO investors don’t truly understand the risks involved with token sales.
The Meeting’s Participants Will Include Blockchain Advocates
The meeting will include a few speakers from other regulatory departments and the blockchain industry. This includes the former financial tech advisor at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Jeff Bandman; the president of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Michael Bodson; the co-founder of the blockchain company Chain, Adam Ludwin; and a representative from Nasdaq. Ludwin has presented blockchain topics to U.S. congressional leaders and members of the Federal Reserve in the past.
The SEC’s meeting in October should bring more light to how U.S. regulators perceive the nascent ICO industry and how they plan to protect investors and apply legislation to these popular token sales.
How do you think the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will handle ICOs? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Images via Shutterstock, U.S. SEC logo, and the blog Ofnumbers.
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