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…
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) have published a joint consultation paper and a request for comment, Consultation Paper 21-402 Proposed Framework for Crypto-Asset Trading Platforms (The Consultation Paper), for a sixty-day comment period ending May 15,…
On February 22, 2019, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) issued an interjurisdictional order, permanently forbidding USI-Tech Management Limited (USI -Tech) from trading in or acquiring securities, and from trading in derivatives in the province of Ontario (the permanent order). The permanent order was issued after…
On February 15, 2019, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) declined to approve the prospectus (the prospectus) for The Bitcoin Fund (the Fund), which is managed by 3iQ Corp (the Manager). In his 17-page decision, the OSC’s Raymond Chan, Acting Director of Investment Funds and Structured…
The death of Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX CEO Gerald Cotton in December 2018 and the platform’s subsequent filing for creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) on February 5th has left company officials struggling to locate roughly $180 million in missing cryptocurrency. Court…
In late November, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled registration charges with two issuers of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), CarrierEQ Inc. (Airfox) and Paragon Coin Inc. (Paragon). These were the SEC’s first cases imposing civil penalties solely for ICO securities offering registration…
Earlier this month, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced settled charges against the founder of a digital token trading platform, EtherDelta, Zachary Coburn with operating an unregistered national securities exchange. This is the SEC’s first enforcement order against such a platform operating…
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) today launched two cryptoasset educational initiatives as part of its activities for Financial Literacy Month. The first, GetSmarterAboutCrypto.ca provides investors with an overview of cryptoasset products and services, the OSC’s role in regulating them, and tips for exercising due diligence…