Let me start by making something abundantly clear: I have no problem with the SEC making inquiries surrounding crypto-security issuances.
The questionable practice that some crypto companies have taken to over the past year plus, where “initial coin offerings” are touted as a way to raise money from over-eager and unsophisticated enthusiasts to finance new businesses, is bad for the industry and in many case borders on unethical. Any promise that a new cryptocurrency represents an equity-like future interest in a startup, especially from those who appear to be engaging in deceptive fundraising schemes or committing outright fraud and manipulation should be flagged, and the guilty party fined and/or charged with a crime.
Maybe I should have my libertarian card revoked for saying this, but purge baby, purge. There’s a reason that accredited investor rules exist for early stage companies, and that’s because you genuinely need a certain level of sophistication to enter the Wild Wild West of startup investing.
However, it doesn’t appear as if the supposed SEC “crackdown” is widespread. Several outlets, including the Wall Street Journal have questioned whether very many companies have received letters from the SEC related to their issuances. And I don’t think the crypto-security line is very often crossed, so even if entities like Ethereum were approached, they would have a justifiable argument that they are operating well outside of the SEC’s jurisdiction. I personally believe the difference between crypto-security (equity in an issuing entity) and crypto-commodity (token that may rise from the related tech’s usage) is fairly clear.
SEC fact-finding is ok to weed out bad actors. But as is usually the case, the issue revolves around whether the regulator can be trusted to act with restraint and in moderation. Questionable.
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Let me make something else abundantly clear: I have a big problem with the SEC making inquiries surrounding crypto-security issuances…as if there is something inherently wrong with them.
While everything I said in the above section is true, I actually think crypto-security issuances from established venture-backed companies like Reddit, who recently announced plans to issue up to 10% of their equity to the site’s faithful users, are a phenomenal idea, and should be allowed to flourish with minimal federal interference.
That’s unlikely to happen, but it should — because younger investors are getting hosed from every direction.
For starters, individuals simply won’t realize the same returns as their parents. We can have the typical bitcoin debate about money printing and stock market bubbles and unfunded liabilities and the end of the dollar, etc. But that actually misses a larger point: retail investors can’t capture as much value from investments because the best companies are staying private longer.
Sarbanes-Oxley (2002) made it harder and more expensive for companies to go public, while the JOBS Act (2012) made it easier to stay private regardless of how many private investors a startup counted among its ranks. Companies built on the backs of millennials, such as Facebook and Alibaba, didn’t make it to the public markets until they were worth north of $100 billion. And $10 billion+ private company darlings like Uber, Airbnb, and Dropbox seem unlikely to go public until they hit similar nosebleed levels. That means these companies’ gains have (mostly) accrued to the baby boomers, whose pensions and fund managers were able to realize gains from the growth of these rocketships via limited partnership commitments to venture funds, while younger investors with Etrade accounts were left out in the cold.
Consider that when Google went public at a $23 billion valuation in 2004, it was considered an astronomical pricetag, yet it has still been able to return nearly 20x its IPO price to investors. Do we really think Facebook or Alibaba will come anywhere close to that type of performace? (Unless they turn into multi-trillion dollar companies, the answer is no. Just no.) And Uber and Airbnb are already privately valued near Google’s IPO price, with no plans to register for IPOs anytime soon. (After all, that’s only what mature companies do these days.)
With that in mind, how nice would it be to have more venture-backed companies like Reddit that can allocate a portion of pre-IPO equity to users via crypto-equities? Even if I had to invest at a 100% premium to the institutional investors, I’d probably buy some Reddit or Uber or Stripe given the chance. (Or at least earn some Uber or Stripe credits?) At worst, I’d feel like I was getting in at the future IPO price.
So back off, SEC. (Please?)
Upcoming Events
Harvard Business School’s Cyberposium (November 1 in Cambridge)
HBS’s annual technology conference always attracts a great line up of speakers, and this year’s event will be no different. The newly formed HBS Bitcoin club has organized a panel with Jeremy Allaire (Circle), Adam Ludwin (Chain) and Adam Draper (BoostVC) as part of the day’s festivities. Tickets can be purchased here, and the organizers are offering a $5 discount to the first 50 people to register with the promo-code “bitcoin.”
Interscholastic Bitcoin Meetup (November 3 in Cambridge)
Next Monday (11/03), the Wellesley and MIT Bitcoin clubs will be hosting a meetup at Moksa in Cambridge from 6-9pm. The event is casual and free, but limited to students and professors only. Participating schools include Wellesley, Harvard, HBS, HLS, MIT, Northeastern, BC, BU, and Tufts. It’ll be a great opportunity to hear what other students are doing and find opportunities for collaboration. Inquiries may be directed to jwang5@wellesley.edu
Money 20/20 (November 2-5 in Las Vegas)
Money20/20 is the world’s largest event enabling payments and financial services innovation for ‘anywhere, anytime’ connected commerce at the intersection of mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology. With 6,500+ attendees, including more than 500 CEOs, from over 2,250 companies and 50 countries, Money20/20 is critical to realizing the vision of disruptive ways in which consumers and businesses manage, spend and borrow money. The next Money20/20 will be held on Nov. 2-5, 2014 in Las Vegas, and will be preceded by the Money20/20 Hackathon, which runs Nov. 1-2. Register here!
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Have a position you’re dying to fill? You can post it here. It’s free, and already helped placed some candidates in new jobs. I’m here to help.
Student Bitcoiners: Circle, the Boston-based digital currency venture, is looking for campus reps across the country to participate in a social media marketing program this fall! Each rep will receive a Circle account with $250 in Bitcoin to spend over the course of the semester. Reps are required to post at least five stories about using Circle and Bitcoin to their Facebook accounts (and/or other blogging platforms like Tumblr) and to cross promote these via Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social channels. To apply, send your resume to reps@circle.com click on this link to be redirected to the brief application.
Today’s Tid Bits
Coinbase’s New Multisig Vault Gives Users Control Over Keys
http://www.coindesk.com/coinbases-new-multisig-vault-gives-users-control-keys/
In July Coinbase launched Vault, a secure storage feature for large amounts of bitcoin with delayed withdrawals and multiple approvals. Yesterday, Coinbase announced its adding multi-signature (multisig) features to its Vault product, allowing users to have a Bitcoin address with several associated private keys, where approval is needed from all the different keys in order to spend the funds. Users can now also have control over their private keys if they so choose, but are also responsible for storing them. The Multisig Vault is a free service that is now available to all costumers.
Bitcoin Exchange Kraken Launches in Japan
http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-exchange-kraken-launches-japan/
Popular bitcoin exchange, Kraken will launch in Japan today, aiming itself at the nation’s large number of finance professionals and active traders. Kraken will attempt to establish itself in Japan by gaining public trust, given the local media’s tendency to associate bitcoin with Mt. Gox and Silk Road. The Kracken team has been involved in forming Japan’s bitcoin industry group, the Japan Authority of Digital Asset, and has met with government representatives on several occasions. Kracken will now focus its attention on bitcoin trading markets in the UK and Japan.
Vogogo Secures Key Payments Partnership Ahead of US Expansion
http://www.coindesk.com/vogogo-secures-key-payments-partnership-ahead-us-expansion/
Vogogo, the Calgary-based regulatory and risk compliance service has partnered with Knox Payments enabling its future US clients in the digital currency industry to accept payment from any US bank account and to better access commercial banking. Since 2008, Vogogo has served e-commerce clients providing risk management, compliance tools, and online payment services; the company raised $8.5m in funding in August.
Bitcoin Gambling Site SatoshiBET No Longer Accepting US Customers
http://www.coindesk.com/satoshibet-no-longer-accepting-us-customers/
Due to the uncertain future of online gambling regulation in the US and potential legal problems, SatoshiBet, a popular bitcoin gambling site, is no longer serving US costumers. Roughly 20% of the sites traffic comes from sources in the US. SatoshiBet stressed that the move was strictly precautionary, a move to avoid any potential US legal conflict.
Shopify Merchants Can Now Accept Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin with GoCoin
http://newsbtc.com/2014/10/29/shopify-merchants-can-now-accept-bitcoin-dogecoin-litecoin-gocoin/
Last November, Shopify partnered with BitPay and eventually Coinbase to allow their 120,000 merchants to accept bitcoin. Now GoCoin, the Santa Monica based digital currency payment processor is partnering with Shopify to allow merchants to not only accept bitcoin, but to also expand to litecoin and dogecoin.
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