Why The SEC Delay Over Crowdfunding Rules is Stifling Bitcoin Innovation
Brian Klein is a partner at the Los Angeles-based litigation boutique Baker Marquart LLP, the chair of the Bitcoin Foundation's legal advocacy committee (although he is not writing here on behalf of the foundation), and a former US federal prosecutor. This article was co-authored alongside Molly White, a partner at McGuireWoods LLP in Los Angeles and a former SEC enforcement attorney. Crowdfunding has undoubtedly become an important way for emerging and innovative companies to raise money. Look no further than Soylent (the high-profile and controversial food replacement product), which....
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US Lawmakers Want Answers From SEC
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Could bitcoin be a suitable vehicle for crowdfunding? Over the past couple of years, crowdsourced funding projects have bloomed, but most of them still require contributions in fiat currencies. Now, however, some sites are emerging designed to help people attract bitcoin-based funding from a broad community of donors. Crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and IndieGogo have become a popular means of funding for a range of projects, from manufacturing through to content production. According to market analyst Massolution, crowdfunding platforms raised $2.7 billion in 2012, 81% up on....
The SEC has just made equity crowdfunding legal. Here's our take on how this applies to bitcoin and the blockchain. Last October, the US Securities and Exchange Commission released this update, which detailed the adoption of the final rules surrounding equity based crowdfunding offerings. The concept was first addressed as part of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) act way back in 2012, which was signed in by Barack Obama, as a tool that would facilitate the process through which small and medium business enterprises gain access to operating and development capital. Up until now,....
An important part of being able to create and drive new innovation, crowdfunding is a broken system that bitcoin fixes.