Abstract
This framework was originally published December 2016. It is well out of date now. Do not rely on it.
As the development of blockchain tokens (also known as App Coins) continues to enable new decentralized business models, new legal issues come into focus. For developers, legal and regulatory uncertainty can be one of the main barriers to building new blockchain protocols and applications. The Framework is a starting point for developers and companies entering the space. It can be used to analyze the likelihood that a particular blockchain token (e.g. any given App Coin) would be subject to US federal securities law. It also establishes a set of best practices for token crowdsales. It is open source and free to use.
Article Citation
"A Securities Law Framework for Blockchain Tokens 1.0," December 2016.
Table of Contents
A direct download of this framework is available here.