Crypto Startups Are Fleeing The U.S.—This Bill Is Trying To Stop Them

In the fall of 2018, Republican congressman Warren Davidson was meeting with a cryptocurrency entrepreneur in Massachusetts. The CEO was deciding where to locate his startup, and they were discussing the regulatory uncertainties surrounding digital currencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs).

Crypto Startups Are Fleeing The U.S.—This Bill Is Trying To Stop Them 960x0

Crypto Startups Are Fleeing The U.S.—This Bill Is Trying To Stop Them 960x0

The entrepreneur told Davidson, “Look, it’s nothing personal. We just don’t trust that you guys are gonna get this done right. So we’re feeling kind of Swiss,” implying he might move to Switzerland, a country with an arguably more business-friendly approach to crypto regulation.

Over the past few years, most companies that created digital tokens and sold them through ICOs assumed they wouldn’t be deemed securities. But when regulators think otherwise, startups can face major legal trouble, as we’ve seen recently with the cases of Airfox, Paragon and Basis. In December, Warren Davidson introduced a new digital token bill, aiming to kill the uncertainty and keep innovation inside U.S. borders.

“The SEC’s stance has caused a massive flight of startups to offshore jurisdictions,” says Caitlin Long, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley who helped Wyoming pass new blockchain legislation last year. “Lawyers right and left were telling clients, ‘Don’t issue tokens to U.S. investors and don’t domicile in the U.S.’”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2019/01/10/crypto-startups-are-fleeing-the-usthis-bill-is-trying-to-stop-them/#1ecc86bd2267

Crypto Startups Are Fleeing The U.S.—This Bill Is Trying To Stop Them

Crypto Startups Are Fleeing The U.S.—This Bill Is Trying To Stop Them

Anarcho-Capitalist Categorical Imperatives

AnCaps' Laissez-faire Free Trade Zone