Amid all the buzz about huge fortunes being made almost overnight in cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings (ICOs), SEC chairman Jay Clayton felt compelled to comment in December.
There was some grudging acceptance.
“I believe that initial coin offerings – whether they represent offerings of securities or not – can be effective ways for entrepreneurs and others to raise funding, including for innovative projects.”
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Jay Clayton, SEC |
However, there was yet another clear warning: “A change in the structure of a securities offering does not change the fundamental point that when a security is being offered, our securities laws must be followed.”
The ICO that Euromoney will be watching most closely is due to come in 2018 from Tend, an investment platform for high-net-worth investors set up by Marco Abele, former head of digital for private banking at Credit Suisse.
Abele conceived the idea for Tend when he saw how the leading private banks are increasingly concentrating their efforts on ultra-high net-worth (UHNW) clients with more assets and higher transaction volumes, and rather neglecting the less affluent.
