Blockvest Ruling Reminds Token Issuers To Push Back

By Michael Dicke and Eric Young (December 7, 2018, 1:57 PM EST) -- Digital token issuers caught up in the onslaught of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations finally received some encouraging news regarding their token sales' exposure to federal securities laws. On Tuesday, Nov. 27, Judge Gonzalo Curiel of the Southern District of California issued the first opinion rebuffing the SEC under the Howey test. In denying the SEC's motion for a preliminary injunction — after initially granting a temporary restraining order — the court held that the commission had not provided enough information to deem Blockvest's token a security. The decision in SEC v. Blockvest LLC is a narrow one, based mainly on the parties' differing factual accounts of what information the limited number of token purchasers relied upon. But it reminds token issuers and exchange operators that they can successfully push back against regulatory agencies in court....

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