WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) – U.S. regulators on Tuesday declared that the offer and sale of digital assets, such as initial coin offerings, are securities – a determination that could pave the way for enforcement actions if firms fail to register the deals.
The finding by the Securities and Exchange Commission was released in an investigative report into a virtual organization known as The DAO. In the report, the SEC concluded that the tokens being sold were securities, and therefore, must be registered.
The SEC said it had decided not to bring civil charges at the end of its probe into The DAO, but instead use the case as a cautionary tale for the market. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Richard Chang)