By Dan DeWolf and Samuel Effron

Dear Readers, 

Happy spring! As the weather warms up on the East Coast we continue to see heated activity in the private company space and financing activities remain robust. While there has been some softness in the market for digital securities due to concerns about compliance and the lackluster pricing of virtual currencies, we remain bullish on this space. We like to remind all our readers that it is still early innings for digital securities, and many new technologies such as blockchain software are often over-hyped in the short term but under-hyped for the long term.

We have a number of articles in this edition that we think you will find interesting and informative. We lead with a client alert on the SEC’s recent no action letter regarding utility tokens. We believe that this no action letter, together with the new Framework for “Investment Contract” Analysis of Digital Assets concurrently issued by the SEC with the no action letter, makes clear that financing activities using blockchain software will need to be structured as digital securities and not as utility tokens. We follow with articles relating to (i) raising capital as a public benefit corporation, (ii) resales of private securities using the relatively new Section 4(a)(7) under the Securities Act of 1933, and (iii) distributing equity among the various stakeholders in a start-up entity. Lastly, we have included a recent podcast on employment law basics for those enterprises doing business in California.

And finally, thanks to all our readers for your support. As recently reported in the press, Mintz had a record performance in terms of revenues and profits for its fourth consecutive year. None of this happens in a vacuum and we recognize that collaboration with our clients is one of the keys to our mutual success. We look forward to working with many of you in the years to come. As always, we welcome your questions and inquiries. Sign up here to receive email alerts when new articles are posted to MintzEdge.com.

Sincerely yours,
Dan + Sam

CONTENTS

• The SEC Confirms the Limited Scope and Nature of Utility Tokens

• Can I Raise Venture Capital As a Public Benefit Corporation?

• Section 4(a)(7): More Than a Codification of Section “4(a)(1½)”

• How to Distribute Equity in Your Start-Up

• From the Edge: Employment Law Basics in California

• Upcoming Events

• MintzTech Connect Team