The SEC settled its first enforcement action against
the founder of digital token trading platform EtherDelta for
operating an unregistered national securities exchange. The
platform enabled users to conduct secondary market transactions in
certain blockchain tokens commonly issued in Initial Coin
Offerings. The platform operated a website that enabled users to
view orders in the order book, and used a smart contract to
validate and execute paired orders.
The founder of the platform agreed to pay $300,000 in
disgorgement plus $13,000 in prejudgment interest and a $75,000
penalty.
Commentary /
Steven Lofchie
Once it is established that a particular token in a security,
the SEC and other regulators have quite a number of potential
charges that they may bring against market intermediaries selling
or trading or facilitating such activities in the token.