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by omarchowdhury 3191 days ago
They did say what would make an ICO legit: proper registration with the SEC.
2 comments

Has any company tried to do proper registration with the SEC? If so, we're they successful?

I just hit up the mighty Google and it was interesting, but not helpful.

Search terms 'ICO proper registration SEC' yields some interesting results, including some stuff that I'm not sure made HN, but doesn't reveal any companies that have done so or tried to do so.

I'm not suggesting this, but I bet the first one that properly registers with the SEC (even if it fails horribly and was bordering in scammy) would make a mint. The tag line of 'Officially sanctioned by the SEC' would go a long ways, even if it was doomed (intentional or otherwise) from the start.

Again, that's not a suggestion to make something meet the bare minimal requirements, register, and then make a killing.

Filecoin did their ICO by the book. The biggest constraint is that the purchasers need to be accredited investors.
Thanks! I will see if I can find some stuff to read about them later. I want to see how hard it was, the process, etc...

I believe they changed some VC funding rules, not that long ago. I'm not sure if the apply in these types of cases, but I think 'regular' people are now allowed to invest, but only a small amount. I seem to recall it was $2000/year.

It's not much, but it is a start? I didn't pay much attention to it, so I don't remember all the details. Sorry, I don't even remember the name of it so that I can dig out some info. I noticed it in passing. I'm not into the VC game and prefer investing elsewhere. So, I didn't pay much attention to it.

Edited to add:

https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/16/11685832/sec-crowdfunding...

Chances are you know more about it than I do, but there's a link if you don't.

Apparently there is a joke amongst securities lawyers about the Howey test.

Even if there was a lawyer at Howey's orange tree advising Howey on securities regulation, Howey might have asked "okay where do I go to register to trade the interests in my orange tree" and the lawyer would say "well you can't, because you are selling fucking oranges"