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ARTICLE · 19 MARCH 2019

With The SEC, Cooperation Is Key

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As an expensive "slap on the wrist," the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or the "Commission") recently concluded that approximately $12.7 million worth of funds raised in a 2017

United StatesCorporate/Commercial Law

As an expensive "slap on the wrist," the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or the "Commission") recently concluded that approximately $12.7 million worth of funds raised in a 2017 Initial Coin Offering ("ICO") by Gladius Network LLC ("Gladius") were part of an unregistered securities offering, and all proceeds must be returned to investors. However, the penalty to Gladius for their regulatory violations was zero.

In recent years, the SEC has brought a number of actions involving offerings of digital asset securities including ICOs. These actions have principally focused on two important questions. First, the SEC examines when is a digital asset a "security" for purposes of the federal securities laws, and if the digital asset is a "security," the SEC examines what registration requirements apply, if any. After the Commission warned in its Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) Report of Investigation that ICOs can be securities offerings, Gladius raised

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