Blockchain & Cryptocurrency

Blockchain has been gathering momentum in the business community. Startups, incubators, accelerators, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, investors and other financial institutions are catching up and taking interest in this innovative new way of raising funds and profit. However, many of these companies are not aware of the necessary components of utilizing token offerings. An experienced blockchain and digital cryptocurrency lawyer can help your company avoid liability, investor lawsuits, and regulatory and administrative action and sanctions when engaging in digital currency transactions. The investment in legal advice can also help your business avoid lost profits and the negative publicity associated with bad or fraudulent digital currency practices. Learn more about how a Los Angeles blockchain lawyer can help your business set proper rules for digital currency transactions, compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA, FinCEN, DOJ, CFTC and state regulations, and resolve legal disputes concerning digital currency. The experienced startup attorneys at SLG are up to date on everything you and your business needs to successfully navigate the complicated ICO processes, and to structure your token offering in a risk‐adverse, compliant manner. The regulatory and legal landscape for ICO's is evolving quickly with sparse information made known to those who pay to play. Thus, many businesses find themselves facing complex regulatory and legal hurdles, such as:

• Federal securities laws (SEC)
• State Blue Sky laws
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
• FINRA
• Private plaintiff's bars

Structure Law Group’s experienced ICO attorneys assist businesses in holding Initial Coin Offerings. We work efficiently and diligently to provide our clients with clear advice, well prepared documentation, and an overall comprehensive overview of the regulatory landscape involved in blockchain and cryptocurrency transactions.

To schedule a consultation with one of our Los Angeles ICO attorneys, please call our office today at (310) 818‐7500. Prospective clients can also contact our office by submitting our online contact form.

Preparing for a token offering can be complex in that it involves taking a deep dive examination of your offering, and determining whether or not your token is a utility token or a security token. Unfortunately, most startups mischaracterize their token as a utility token when it should be a security token, and then find themselves facing serious legal risk and consequences.

The test for analyzing your token is called the “Howey Test,” which is often misread too simply when it in fact contains nuances that are often overlooked. SEC regulations are a major threat to ICO's, and it is important to have sound legal counsel to manage this risk. SLG can help you review your business under the Howey Test and make sure you are set up for success.

When your token is a type of security token, our attorneys will help you structure your ICO in compliance with federal and state securities laws. Federal securities laws (SEC) indicate that most tokens are securities that must be registered, unless they are registration exempt.

SLG’s Los Angeles blockchain attorneys assist our clients in all stages of preparing and publishing their whitepapers. Whitepapers provide important information and disclosures for transparent relationships with potential and actual investors in the company's ICO. Failure to include any of the necessary information on your whitepaper opens your company up to both individual and class action lawsuits.

Whitepapers must include details such as:

• Tokenomics
• Technical milestones
• Breakdown of use of proceeds
• Disclosure of risk factors
• And potentially much more information, depending on your business and the extent of your funding.

Because of the legal hurdles that are in no way plain language, token developers should always seek out an experienced blockchain attorney to guide them through development and drafting and review of any whitepapers. SLG’s Los Angeles attorneys are well versed in all of the applicable securities regulations and mitigating factors of white pages, so that by working with us you can trust that your whitepapers are legally sound.

Initial Coin Offerings (ICO’s) is an innovative way to raise capital for financing your project by selling crypto tokens. The tokens issued in an ICO, sometimes called a Token Generation Event (TGE), are frequently redeemed on the issuer’s platform for the purpose of providing investors with access to the technology and utility created on the blockchain. If you are issuing ICO’s to investors on your or any other platform, consider the following factors:

Because token purchasers and users interact with ICO platform and a startup's blockchain‐based platform. This means that it is essential for companies to provide sound Terms of Use and a Privacy Policy for the ICO platform. The Terms of Use and Privacy Policies will inevitably need to evolve as token and blockchain‐based platform are developed. SLG’s attorneys will help your business take that critical step, so that you can be sure you are protecting your investors, technology, data, and intellectual property. Our experienced attorneys know how to safely and successfully launch your ICO and blockchain use platforms, Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Anti‐Money Laundering (AML) policies are in place to help a company vet any potential token purchaser. Therefore, before any tokens can even be issued, a company needs to know who they are selling to, and in order to complete the transaction have a solid, legally and AML compliant strategy. SLG’s ICO attorneys strive to be Los Angeles’s most trusted legal resource for creating and executing effective AML strategies and policies.

Cutting edge businesses need cutting edge legal solutions. If your company engages in blockchain or digital currency transactions, you need comprehensive legal protections to help you stay compliant with evolving regulations and protect your financial interests. No matter what stage or familiarity you have of blockchain or cryptocurrency, SLG can provide the safety and security to you and your business of having knowledgeable legal counsel in your corner. To schedule a consultation with one of our Los Angeles ICO attorneys, call our office today at (310) 818‐7500, or fill out or contact form.