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Winkevoss Twins Keep Promoting ‘Trust’ and ‘Regulation’ After QuadrigaCX Debacle

Winkevoss twins keep promoting ‘trust’ and ‘regulation’ after quadrigacx debacle

Winkevoss Twins Keep Promoting ‘Trust’ and ‘Regulation’ After QuadrigaCX Debacle

Once again, the Winklevoss twins are out on the road evangelizing about the need for trust and regulation in the cryptocurrency space while continually pushing their exchange, Gemini, as a trusted third-party. 


Both mainstream and cryptocurrency media outlets have been extensively covering the QuadrigaCX fiasco, in which the exchange’s executive reportedly passed away with the sole knowledge of the platform’s private keys for accounts holding user funds. Not everyone is convinced this is true, however, with many in the cryptocurrency space suspecting the whole debacle is — at least, to some degree — an exit scam.

With the Canadian exchange failure on everyone’s mind, the Winklevoss twins are out on the road promoting the need for regulation and trust — and, by proxy, their own exchange — in an industry meant to remove the need for trusted third-parties.

Referencing infamous issues such as QuadrigaCX’s failure and the Mt. Gox catastrophe, Cameron Winklevoss stated at the South by Southwest conference yesterday:

There are a lot of carcasses on the road of crypto that we’ve seen and learned from. At the end of the day it’s really a trust problem. You need some kind of regulation to promote positive outcomes.

He also stated that more oversight and regulatory compliance will push bitcoin’s price back to higher levels. “You want to have a couple of layers of checks and balances,” Tyler Winklevoss said. “We are here for the long haul.”

Winklevoss

When Winklevoss says “you,” of course, we’re not entirely sure he is talking about you. Some of us at Bitcoinist, for example, have no interest in having a couple of layers of checks and balances — and we, too, are in it for the long haul.

What do you think of Cameron Winklevoss’ statements? Do you agree that bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency industry needs more trusted third-parties and regulatory checks and balances — or do you agree that such opinions fly in the face of decentralization? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! 


Images courtesy of Shutterstock. 

Published at Sat, 09 Mar 2019 11:00:29 +0000

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Op Ed: Launching an ICO? Follow This Advice from the SEC

Op Ed: Launching an ICO? Follow This Advice from the SEC

Lost in the headlines over the SEC’s recent pronouncements on cryptocurrency was important practical advice for both promoters of and participants in initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Most coverage was rightfully garnered from the Report by the SEC’s enforcement division which deemed that DAO Tokens are securities, after subjecting the offering to the Howey test. However, the simultaneously issued Investor Bulletin should also be closely read by issuers of ICOs and their counsel.

Advice for Issuers and Counsel

Even though the bulletin was prepared as a cautionary statement to investors, it contains at least one disclaimer (in boldface type) that attorneys advising ICOs should add the following language to any offering document or white paper:

Investing in an ICO may limit your recovery in the event of fraud or theft. While you may have rights under the federal securities laws, your ability to recover may be significantly limited.

We have previously discussed the importance of these disclaimers and risk factors. By discussing the vulnerabilities of cryptocurrency exchanges and the potential difficulties associated with any recovery of invested or stolen funds, the SEC signals at least some of the risk factors counsel should consider adding to ICO offering materials.  

In fact, prudent attorneys advising their ICO clients would be wise to employ the cut-and-paste function, adding the above caveat to all their documents.

This additional wording is significant in that it spells out three key characteristics of ICOs:

(i) the difficulty of tracing or securing virtual currency;

(ii) the international scope of ICOs; and

(iii) the fact that lack of any central authority may limit an investor’s remedies against an issuer.

Practical Advice for Investors

Besides the usual bromides about being wary of any offer that sounds “too good to be true,” the SEC demonstrated an appreciation for the unique due diligence required in carefully evaluating an ICO.

According to the bulletin, investors should “ask whether the blockchain is open and public, whether the code has been published, and whether there has been an independent cybersecurity audit.” The SEC is communicating that those factors are indicative of companies whose products are verifiably real and secure.

Given the importance the SEC placed on these three items, rather than await questions, such points should be clearly addressed by an issuer in its ICO materials distributed to potential investors. Issuers of ICOs should include those factors and other “good facts” that can help to demonstrate their product’s value, security and legitimacy.

While the recent flurry of documents emanating from the SEC likely has given issuers of ICOs and their counsel pause (and caused them to walk each token through the Howey test), it does not appear to have stifled these transactions.

However, where the report reiterates the conceptual framework under which any potential token offering be evaluated to determine whether it constitutes a securities offering, the bulletin provides practical advice, and investors should expect to see some of the SEC’s language repeated in ICO offering documents going forward.

This is a guest post by Gray Sasser and Joshua Rosenblatt. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of bitcoin Magazine or BTC Media.

The post Op Ed: Launching an ICO? Follow This Advice from the SEC appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.