Aaron Payas, Partner at Hassans who led on the INX project from its inception said: “I am thrilled that we have been able to secure this confirmation from the SEC. This represents something of a watershed moment, not just for Gibraltar as a jurisdiction which took the initiative and seized the opportunity of the distributed ledger technology and wider fintech space, but also for the industry as a whole. The SEC has been robust in its approach to crypto currency, taking a wide view of the definition of security to largely include utility tokens, thereby making the offer of such virtual assets in the US subject to the very substantial body of securities law and practice there. Some projects opted to enter the US market by relying on exemptions and, in respect of those who didn’t, or did not properly do so, the SEC has issued a record number of subpoenas. Unregistered token offerings have quickly come under fire of the SEC’s traditional heavy handedness in respect of many of the hundreds of token offerings seen during the 2017 boom. There have been numerous examples of settlements entered into with the SEC or outright bans being doled out by it.
The approach by INX to its own fundraising has been in stark contrast to the many ICOs we have seen in Gibraltar and elsewhere which have tended to actively seek to avoid falling in scope of US securities legislation by means, often, of excluding US investors. INX understands its market and knows that its success is inextricably linked to being able to access investors/customers in the US. It therefore took the decision to develop and deploy a security token and to work with the SEC to develop the project in full compliance with the relevant securities provisions.”
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25-08-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR