Why the crypto focus for 2019 will be on compliance
The year 2018 was a total disaster for the crypto world. In a space where the focus seems to be price and price alone, the general feeling was that of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).
The effect of this global downtrend was never more apparent than for ICOs. Initial Coin Offerings started 2018 with a bang, by 2nd quarter of 2018 alone, they managed to snag 10 times more than the cumulative sum of investments from ICOs of Q1–2 2017. However, in the span of a year, the ICO investments per month — went from more than $1 Billion in January being invested, to just $179 Million in November.
On top of this, the US SEC’s recent outings against ICOs, has rocked the world of cryptocurrencies and promoting more FUD. The agency has tagged each ICO offering as securities, making anyone who wants to raise funding through ICOs to be compliant with federal securities law. For a company issuing a security, the offering must be registered with the SEC or qualify for an exemption — which includes selling to accredited investors, investors outside the U.S. or to certified investors with an annual income above $200,000.
