UPCOMING ICO: SEC targets Overstock’s tZERO ICO

This follows news of the SEC’s decision to launch a probe into ICOs. Although no new regulation has been passed regarding ICOs specifically, Jay Clayton, head of the SEC, famously said last month: “Every ICO I’ve seen is a security.”

tZERO’s SEC filing

The filing reads: "In February 2018, the Division of Enforcement of the SEC informed the Company that it is conducting an investigation in the matter re: Overstock.com, Inc. and requested that the company voluntarily provide certain documents related to the Offering and the Tokens in connection with its investigation."

It continues: "The SEC is trying to determine whether there have been any violations of the federal securities laws, the investigation does not mean that the SEC has concluded that anyone has violated the law. Also, the investigation does not mean that the SEC has a negative opinion of any person, entity, or security."

tZERO happy to comply

Despite all this, Joseph Cammarata, the president of tZERO, told CoinDesk: "We are actually

happy that the SEC is scrutinizing the space." Evidently, a company the size of Overstock and, by extension, tZERO, has the time, money, and resources to deal with the SEC’s demands. Sadly, not everybody does.

‘For any normal person to respond, it would be hellish’

Carol Van Cleef, CEO of LuminousVan Cleef (who was previously a longtime financial-services lawyer), told CoinDesk: "There have been occasions where [the SEC] has sent out more than one subpoena at one time …if it is not indicative of a major initiative across the space, they're all related to the same case or they're all interrelated,"

"For any normal person trying to respond, it would be hellish," she added.

Countless subpoenas have been sent out and many ICO organisers are struggling to deal with the bombardment of subpoenas and calls for actions. Meanwhile, no new legislation has been passed re ICOs by the US government.