The US SEC amendments and SAFT process
Do the new safe harbors against integration pave the way for a successful SAFT process? Earlier this year, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission — in both the SEC versus Telegram and SEC versus Kik cases — vigorously argued that sales of contractual rights to acquire tokens on a when-issued basis (widely referred to as Simple Agreements for Future Tokens, or SAFTs) should be integrated with later sales of the tokens. When the judges in those cases issued rulings agreeing with the SEC, it felt like a door was closing on the SAFT process, making it unworkable for future crypto....
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SEC v. Kik doesn’t have to be game-over for Kik or SAFTs. In fact, the decision is perhaps more favorable than the SEC v. Telegram order. On the last day of September 2020, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein dashed the hopes of Kik Interactive, crypto entrepreneurs and Simple Agreement for Future Tokens, or SAFT, proponents in general by ruling in favor of the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission’s motion for summary judgment in SEC v. Kik Interactive. The case was instigated by the SEC in June 2019 when the SEC filed an enforcement action against Kik Interactive Inc., (referred to in the complaint....
Wireline is now barred from distributing the tokens it promised investors in its 2018 SAFT sale.
Addressing the legitimacy of collapsing the sale of contractual rights with the eventual release of crypto assets. As discussed in the previous article, Telegram is a popular global instant messaging company. In 2018, it sold contractual rights to acquire a new crypto asset that it was developing (to be called Grams) to a group of accredited (and wealthy) investors around the world. Telegram raised about $1.7 billion from 171 investors, including 39 U.S. purchasers. This was a prelude to the planned launch of Grams, which was to occur about a year and a half later in October 2019.This....
The legal battle between the U.S. SEC and Telegram could be a strong warning against the SAFT process. Telegram is a popular, global, cloud-based instant messaging, videotelephone and voice-over service company. Particularly popular with crypto-enthusiasts, at the end of 2017, Telegram came up with a plan to raise funds to support the development of a new crypto asset, dubbed Gram, and a network originally planned as the Telegraph Open Network. Proceeds would also fund further expansion of the messaging service that had previously been funded by the founders.Telegram set out to fundraise....
Amendments to the European Union anti-money laundering law places virtual currencies under the same obligations as other payment institutions, according to the European Parliament news service. The MEPs recently agreed to the amendments by a vote of 89 to 1. The amendments approved by the Economic and Monetary Affairs and Civil Liberties committees are designed to eliminate gaps in the EU’s laws to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing. The law would also include stricter rules to prevent tax evasion. Citizens To Gain Access To Trusts. EU citizens will be able to access....