Decentralized computing network Blockstack has applied to the Securities and Exchanges Commission () to launch a $50 million which — if approved — would be the industry’s first -qualified offering. The development was revealed in a with the dated April 11.
The , which is being proposed under the A+ framework, would be operated via a wholly-owned subsidiary, “Blockstack LLC,” and involve the of 295 million Stacks .
The filing outlines that different allocations of a total of 295 million would be sold at between $0.12 to $0.30 apiece, according to specific terms, as well as via Blockstack’s so-dubbed App program. This latter involves the conferral of in exchange for the development of applications that run on Blockstack’s decentralized application () network.
If approved, the would notably see Harvard’s endowment fund, among others, directly involved in the purchase. The filing reads:
“The advisory board consists of seven members. Three […] are designees of affiliates of the Harvard Management Company, Lux Capital and Foundation Capital, respectively, limited partners of the QP Fund which have purchased an aggregate of 95,833,333 Stacks .”
Introduced in 2012 under the Jumpstart Our Business (JOBS) Act, the ’s A+ exemption small enterprises an alternative to a traditional initial public offering. It authorizes companies to offer and sell securities to the (American) general public, rather than solely to accredited investors. Under the exemption, companies can raise up to $50 million (Tier 2) — or up to $20 million under Tier 1 — over a 12-month period.
In an official blog post from Blockstack CEO Muneeb Ali today, he stated that upon approval, the offering could “set a precedent for others in the industry.” He added:
“Recently, U.S. markets have been closed to crypto projects given regulatory uncertainty, and we believe in opening the U.S. markets to innovation in this area. We’ve been working with securities lawyers to create a legal framework that can enable protocols to comply with regulations.”
As , staff at the have just recently published a framework to help market participants ascertain whether or not a digital asset is deemed to be an investment contract, and therefore a security.
To date, a host of crypto industry figures and have repeatedly on the agency to provide for the interaction of and securities laws.
Published at Thu, 11 Apr 2019 18:09:16 +0000
