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ARTICLE · 18 JULY 2017

The Future Of Securities Regulation Of Distributed Ledger Technologies

Cassels
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Careful consideration with respect to structuring DLT arrangements will be necessary to avoid or minimize the application of Ontario (and Canadian) securities regulation.

CanadaTechnology
David Gardos
David Gardos
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Introduction

The following discussion provides a general description of blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) and the current state of the regulatory landscape in Ontario.

To date, the Ontario Securities Commission has not explicitly categorized a blockchain token or coin (which are further discussed below) as an investment contract or other type of security under section 1(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario) (the OSA), but did issue a press release on March 7, 2017, advising market participants that products or other assets that are tracked and traded as part of a distributed ledger may qualify as securities, even if they do not represent shares of a company or similar ownership interests. A business' specific use of DLT may trigger Ontario securities law requirements, including the need to be registered or to file a prospectus. Any business that is operating or planning to operate a DLT-based venture should consider the nature of their product and

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