The SEC has cracked down hard on the ICO industry over the past few weeks. It now appears the agency has its sights set on several dozen companies. As a result of this course of action, two major companies have halted their ICOs altogether. It is evident we will see more of these developments in the coming weeks and months.
On the one hand, it is good to see the SEC stay the course. While the ICO industry is incredibly attractive, it also raises plenty of concerns. Companies seemingly continue to issue securities without registering with the agency. That unlawful course of action will need to be addressed sooner rather than later. By actively cracking down on companies like these, things will only improve for the industry as a whole.
SEC Continues to Hound ICO Projects
Over the past few months, several inquiries have been made by the SEC. In fact, the agency is now running dozens of investigations into ICO projects. This will hopefully help alleviate some concerns people may have in this regard. Moreover, this move will help weed out any illicit projects using this business model as a get-rich-quick scheme.
Two particular ICO projects have been shut down by the SEC in recent weeks. On the one hand, the KodakCoin ICO will not occur anytime soon. It is delayed until further notice, as the company seeks to properly verify accredited investors. Video-streaming service Stream has also postponed their ICO until further notice. There is additional guidance form the SEC to be handed down in this regard, as their tokens can theoretically qualify as securities.
While not all people may be in favor of the SEC in this regard, their decisions are positive overall. Bringing more legitimacy to the ICO industry is a top priority as of right now, yet that is much easier said than done. With more and more projects being investigated, it should become easier to issue universal guidelines in this regard moving forward. We can only hope the less legitimate projects seek other pastures sooner rather than later.
Header image courtesy of Shutterstock
