How would you differentiate fraud from a legit ICO? What makes a ICO not fraudulent? It's hard to determine
Use the same judgement any VC would when approaching what to purchase. Every inch of doubt is where you're gambling.
Initial Coin Offerings Horrify a Former S.E.C. Regulator
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Re: Initial Coin Offerings Horrify a Former S.E.C. Regulator
#72The funny thing about ICOs is that anyone in the world can invest anonymously AND GET PAID BACK anonymously even if they have no money, don't have a bank account, are a fugitive, in Iran or North Korea, are in prison, have unpaid child support obligations, have large unpaid IRS tax liabilities, or government fines and penalties or are using stolen funds. All the little knobs and levers that governments use to financi…
That sounds like a good thing--I am really tired of how the government puts its thumb over everyone and makes them poorer. Even people who owe child support are victims in a sense. Not that deadbeats deserve much consideration, but we all know that the court-ordered obligations these men face are ruinous.
Re: Initial Coin Offerings Horrify a Former S.E.C. Regulator
#73There will be enough marketplaces in the world that will provide a solid legal structure for ICOs. The US certainly wont be a part if them. Switzerland, Singapore and Japan already moved ahead with the legal structure. The world is global, money is global.
Not as much as you'd think. The US stock market is 39% of all publicly traded stocks. The US market is bigger than the next 8 countries put together. [1] This is in part due to the US's stringent regulations on stock market listings and accounting for publicly held firms. The more transparent and effective the market, the safer it is for investors to put their money in. [1] https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators…
But they are not the leader in cryto currency
Re: Initial Coin Offerings Horrify a Former S.E.C. Regulator
#74Yet Kickstarter, with all of the same risks of never getting what you paid for, and none of the potential benefits of becoming a stakeholder, is still perfectly fine.
Re: Initial Coin Offerings Horrify a Former S.E.C. Regulator
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not as much as you'd think. The US stock market is 39% of all publicly traded stocks. The US market is bigger than the next 8 countries put together. [1] This is in part due to the US's stringent regulations on stock market listings and accounting for publicly held firms. The more transparent and effective the market, the safer it is for investors to put their money in. [1] https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/indicators…
You assume there would be no capital flight if there would be a superior finance place in the world?
I think what he disagrees with you about is what constitutes a "superior finance place."
Re: Initial Coin Offerings Horrify a Former S.E.C. Regulator
#76The idea of accredited investors horrifies me. The only way to get rich by investing is to get in early when the valuation is very low. These type of rules guarantee that only people already rich will be able to get in early. The reason cryptocurrencies & ICOs are popular is they let anyone speculate and day trade.
I think the idea of accredited investors is that those investments are very risky, and it limits them to people who can "afford" the risk. An accredited investor may be able to bear the brunt of 9 investments being a total loss, to get to the 10th that hits it out of the park, while a non-accredited investor may have her/his life savings (or a substantial enough part of it) wiped out on the first 1 or 2 deals. I'm no…
That and a lot of people really aren't qualified to judge the risk and fall victim to "You can't lose!" scams. Being rich is no guarantee of financial sophistication of course but there's some correlation. And, as you say, they're less likely to be wiped out even if they lose their investment.
I agree it's not a perfect system and people who want to can find other ways to throw away their money. But we're probably not guilty of over-regulating financial markets in general.
Re: Initial Coin Offerings Horrify a Former S.E.C. Regulator
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
I really doubt that. It's definitely a thing that people parrot around, but it's not likely to make up more than 5% of the actual use. Transacting in cash USD is still the preferred currency of the cartels.
The question isn't what percentage of black-market sales are BTC; it's what percentage of BTC sales (excluding speculation) are black-market.
And a related question, which I'd love to know the answer to:
What are the other major uses (excluding speculation) of BTC?
Re: Initial Coin Offerings Horrify a Former S.E.C. Regulator
#78Re: Initial Coin Offerings Horrify a Former S.E.C. Regulator
#79The idea of accredited investors horrifies me. The only way to get rich by investing is to get in early when the valuation is very low. These type of rules guarantee that only people already rich will be able to get in early. The reason cryptocurrencies & ICOs are popular is they let anyone speculate and day trade.
Whatever small effect it has on upward mobility is outweighed by protecting ignorant[1] investors from getting scammed out of their meager life savings.
>The reason cryptocurrencies & ICOs are popular is they let anyone speculate and day trade
Even assuming this was good, you can trade as a non-accredited investor.
[1] no disrespect intended, almost everyone is including me
Re: Initial Coin Offerings Horrify a Former S.E.C. Regulator
#80They're always horrified when they start losing control.