The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has just published a guide for token issuers that has been developing over the past six months.
The regulator lists in the document a series of factors that must be taken into consideration when issuers assess the legal status of their tokens:
- Expectation of profit;
- Existence of centralized structures responsible for certain tasks;
- If a group is creating or supporting a market for a certain digital asset.
The regulator further explains how tokens issuers who have already sold their tokens should evaluate them in order to find out if they should have originally been registered as securities or not. These are the criteria that should be considered when assessing the legal status of a digital asset:
- The "distributed ledger network and digital asset are fully developed and operational";
- The token is focused on a specific use case and not just in speculation;
- The token has limited growth prospects;
- When it is used as a currency, the token can be used to store value.
This guidance is not legally binding, which means that its aim is to clarify some legal aspects in the field of digital assets.
"The Commission has neither approved nor disapproved this guidance. This framework, like other Staff guidance, is not binding on the Divisions or the Commission. It does not constitute legal advice, for which you should consult with your own attorney."
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