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ARTICLE · 05 SEPTEMBER 2017

Canadian Securities Administrators Issue Staff Notice On Cryptocurrency Offerings

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It has been estimated that as of the end of July 2017, 102 such offerings and projects have raised approximately US$1.3 billion.

CanadaCorporate/Commercial Law
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Was there ever any doubt? On August 24, 2017, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) issued Staff Notice 46-307 – Cryptocurrency Offerings providing guidance on the applicability of Canadian securities laws to cryptocurrency offerings and trading. The message is less equivocal than in the past: "Many of these cryptocurrency offerings involve sales of securities".

Are Digital Coins/Tokens Securities?

Initial coin offerings (ICOs), token offerings (ITO), virtual currencies, token generation events and other digital offerings come in a wide variety of flavors. It has been estimated that as of the end of July 2017, 102 such offerings and projects have raised approximately US$1.3 billion.

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