Cryptonetworks and why tokens are fundamental
Context: Union Square Ventures was part of a recent group of VCs that “wanted formal assurance from regulators that their products would be exempt from SEC oversight, arguing the tokens aren’t investments but products that can be exclusively used to access services or networks provided by startup companies” [1].<p>This was broadly seen as a self-serving pitch, as Matt Levine comically noted:<p>“I am sympathetic to the idea that some innovation should be allowed in initial coin offerings, and that the fact that ICO tokens definitely seem like ‘securities’ under existing precedent doesn&#x27;t necessarily mean that the best policy approach is to subject them to all of our existing securities laws. The optimistic view of ICOs is that they enable a genuinely new way to fund and create ownerless networks, and in this age of overly powerful owned networks, that is something worth exploring and encouraging. But you do have to start from a place of honesty: ‘These are probably securities, so what do we do about it’ rather than ‘hahaha what there is no speculation in the ICO market, what are you even talking about?’ [2]”<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wsj.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;cryptocurrency-firms-investors-seek-exemption-from-sec-oversight-1524130200" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wsj.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;cryptocurrency-firms-investors-...</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bloomberg.com&#x2F;view&#x2F;articles&#x2F;2018-04-20&#x2F;being-short-and-right-can-be-bad" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bloomberg.com&#x2F;view&#x2F;articles&#x2F;2018-04-20&#x2F;being-sho...</a>