The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today commenced an enforcement action against Waterloo, Ontario-based Kik Interactive Inc. (Kik) for what it alleges is an illegal USD $100 million ICO Initial Coin Offering (ICO). The SEC alleges that Kik sold the tokens to U.S….
A Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) is a financing contract used by start-ups and investors where operating capital is exchanged for the right to acquire equity at a future time or event, such as the closing of an equity financing round, an M&A transaction…
On May 14, 2019, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concluded separate settlement agreements with Toronto-based NextBlock Global Limited (NextBlock) and its chief promoter, Alex Tapscott over the making of misleading statements. In June of 2017, Tapscott, who served…
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have taken the first steps to replace the current range of electronic records filing systems used In Canada’s capital markets. The CSA is proposing to replace the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR), the System for Electronic Disclosure…
On April 18, 2019, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), along with seven participating jurisdictions, released its oversight review (the Review) of the Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). The risk-based review of IIROC’s functional areas and key processes was carried out under the mandates of…
On April 25, 2019, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) published Rule Notice and Request for Comment 19-0076, (the rule notice and request for comment) for a period ending July 24, 2019, regarding two proposed alternative forms of disciplinary action. The two proposed…
On April 12 2019, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) published its latest guidance on the TSX Sandbox, TSX Staff Notice 2019-0002 (the Staff Notice). The Toronto Stock Exchange created the TSX Sandbox to facilitate listing applications that ordinarily would not satisfy the requirements and guidelines…
The most recent guidance published by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) goes even further to reinforce the importance of the concept of the “investment contract” and the Howey Test when determining if a digital asset is a security. The SEC relies heavily upon the…
By: Barbara Hendrickson and Ray Luckiram[1] March 19, 2019 Introduction Stablecoins have become increasingly popular over the last few years. Stablecoins differ from other cryptocurrencies and digital assets because they are ‘pegged’ to an underlying asset. When a cryptocurrency is said to be ‘pegged,’ it…
On March 14, 2019, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published Annex B, Amendments to National Instrument 31-103, Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations (The Amendments). Together, the Amendments replace subsections 14.6.1(1) and (2) of National Instrument 31-303, Registration Requirements and Ongoing Registrant Obligations (NI-303):…