A phone call from SEC pressures ICO startup to close operations and close , a blockchain-based organization called Protostarr,
had a recent phone call from SEC and had to shut its token sale operations down , the startup plans to refund its investors by sending the ethereum funds raised back to the original addresses, Refunds will begin on September 02, 2017 for all incoming transactions made to the crowdsale wallet before the refund date
After the call, Gilson called SEC specialist lawyers in the Washington, D.C. area, which is where he is based, including one who used to be an SEC investigator, but no one knew if their token would be considered a security. The SEC small business office also couldn't give Protostarr a definitive answer, but advised the team to go the most conservative route and refund their investors.
Gilson, who previously worked in cybersecurity for the Department of Defense and has been involved in Bitcoin since 2012, plans to move on to another token-based business idea
So far Protostarr will be the first ICO to shut down shop due to the U.S. regulator’s concerns with these types of investment vehicles, the regulatory agency just hired Dalia Blass as Director of the Division of Investment Management. Blass worked for a law firm that advised the Winklevoss Twins, so people think she may turn out to be a ‘crypto-proponent’ and possibly push the highly anticipated bitcoin ETF through.
From the other side Chinese regulators are preparing new regulations on ICO's and may ban them until the rules are in place
ICOs have become a path for billionaires to be born allowing them to raise millions quickly by creating and selling digital "tokens"
The popularity of coin offerings has surged in China this year, with 65 ICOs and 2.62 billion yuan, or $394.6 million, raised from 105,000 individuals in the country,
The crypto world is ruthless
