By [Dror Futter](https://rimonlaw.com/team/dror-futter) '89LAW, Partner, [Rimon, P.C.](https://rimonlaw.com/)

For a long time, ICOs lived in a regulatory silence zone. Some even boldly asserted that ICOs lived outside of government regulation. In mid-summer the SEC fired its first “shot across the bow.” While the SEC focused on the DAO token, its broader point was that tokens can be securities and, as a result, fall within the same regulatory regime as, for example, stocks.

With well over $3 billion raised this year alone, in very little time initial coin offerings (ICOs) have emerged as a major source of venture finance. Even companies that have already raised conventional venture funding will be tempted to raise additional funds through ICOs. Although not fully intuitive, some have labeled token issuances by entities that previously obtained equity financing as “Reverse ICOs.”

By Wendy Xiao Schadeck '16BUS, VC at Northzone

Despite the recent ICO boom (which I’ve observed as “bubbly” in my [last blog post](https://medium.com/@wen_xs/things-to-think-about-before-investing-in-blockchain-tokens-8885b01e6615)), some of the biggest critiques of blockchain technology are still unresolved:

1. Near 100% of the current crypto market cap is speculative value rather than utility value  
2. This is not likely to change in the near future because blockchain technologies are hammers looking for nails

By [Dror Futter](https://rimonlaw.com/team/dror-futter) '89LAW, Partner, [Rimon, P.C.](https://rimonlaw.com/)

Although the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)](https://www.sec.gov/) has been studying blockchain and cryptocurrencies since 2013, until its recent pronouncement, the SEC had been silent with respect with respect to its regulatory authority with respect to Initial Coin Offerings.

By: [Eric Jacobsen](https://blogs.oracle.com/fusionmiddleware/4c3d8a3b-d824-49fd-bd37-fecde3bfc46b) | Product Marketing Director

Sanjay Mathew, Senior Director, Head of Open Banking Platforms & Fintech Innovations at Oracle recently spoke at the first ever Columbia University Blockchain Alliance.

It seems that every day in the news we read about yet another blockchain solution or company. This velocity of information is making it increasingly difficult for people to differentiate or establish the value of blockchain technologies.