
Angels and Devils: The Early Crypto Entrepreneurs
After the collapse of FTX and a summer of crypto failures (Terra Luna, Celsius, Three Arrows), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will want to act quickly and treat more digital assets as “securities.” But which ones? In a new article, I attempt an answer by re-interpreting the Howey test for determining what is an “investment contract” and thus a security.
The first crypto entrepreneurs – such as Satoshi Nakamoto (Bitcoin) and Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum) – look like the angel investors who have long funded traditional startups. They engage in “for-profit philanthropy,” investing financial capital in startups but also contributing … Read more