Collyer and Bristow interview:
At the Blockchain Expo Global in London, Block 20 Report Agent Coder caught up with Nigel Brahamas, Partner at Collyer and Bristow. This is a mid sized law firm that offers specialized services for ICOs.
Some great insights into considering legal matters from a company standpoint emerge in this interview, as well as about blockchain technology and its importance.
Blockchain value to banks and financial institutions:
"If you have one agreed private blockchain that all the participants agree to observe, then you have one set of transaction records that everybody agrees with... Instead of at the moment, every bank has their own record and it can be very confusing, they don't always add up and they are not always the same, and you can end up with conflict."
Agent Coder asks:
"What advice can you give (ICOs) from a legal standpoint?"
Nigel:
"Haha... that's why people pay us to advise them... If you are doing an ICO is it potentially going to be a security... If it is its going to get regulated. The alternative is if you can create something that is more like a utility coin... but you can inadvertently create an investment scheme without knowing you are doing it, which would be breaching U.K. securities laws... That's what we give advice for."
Agent Coder:
"Where are the legal havens (for hosting an ICO)?"
Nigel:
"At the moment, Switzerland... and Gibraltar... The U.K. is quite a benign environment for ICOs and quite different from the U.S. - the U.S. is a hostile environment. The U.S. regulators have suggested that they see almost every ICO as a security."
Get more ICO legal insight from those who know by watching the entire Block 20 Report video.