I'm flabbergasted by how much disinformation is infecting this threat. If you look at the list of legal actions the SEC has pursued at the bottom of the article, they are all flagrant violations of securities law and clearly unethical practices.
For example, in "SEC v. Jon E. Montroll and Bitfunder", the individual in question was accepting "investments" in his exchange that were clearly securities (probably fitting the definition of a public offering). He also failed to report a massive theft of Bitcoin and misappropriated customer funds.
This guidance does not claim that Bitcoin or Ethereum are securities.
This is the birth of a new industry. It's unregulated, messy, and the massive amounts of money involved have invited all manner of fraudsters and scam artists - just like the stock market did 100 years ago. There will be a regulatory shakeout and we can all hopefully get back to the business of building a useful ecosystem.
For example, in "SEC v. Jon E. Montroll and Bitfunder", the individual in question was accepting "investments" in his exchange that were clearly securities (probably fitting the definition of a public offering). He also failed to report a massive theft of Bitcoin and misappropriated customer funds.
This guidance does not claim that Bitcoin or Ethereum are securities.
This is the birth of a new industry. It's unregulated, messy, and the massive amounts of money involved have invited all manner of fraudsters and scam artists - just like the stock market did 100 years ago. There will be a regulatory shakeout and we can all hopefully get back to the business of building a useful ecosystem.