Global Regulation Of Initial Coin Offerings: Part 2

Applications of Existing Legislation/Securities Law to ICOs

While some jurisdictions have taken a hostile approach to ICOs, such as the bans by Korea and China, discussed in Part 1 of our 2 part series on international regulation of ICOs, a more measured approach is more common. Many jurisdictions have taken the stance that ICOs can and should be regulated by existing legislation, with slight variations in approach.

Securities Regulation

By far the most frequent conclusion regulators around the world have come to is that, depending on the nature of the ICO, securities laws may be applicable. This is the stated approach in Canada, the USA, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, and most recently, as of November 14, 2017, Singapore. The analysis of whether an ICO amounts to a security is carried out on a case-by-case basis in these jurisdictions, and the determination of whether certain ICOs will amount to a security is likely to vary from jurisdiction