Nick Morgan: The DAO, the SEC and the ICO Boom

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Nick Morgan, a former attorney at the SEC, joined us to discuss their recent report on the DAO and what it means for the ICO boom.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The history and mandate of the SEC
• Nick’s years as a trial attorney at the SEC
• How the Howey Test is used to determine if something is a security
• The application of the Howey Test to the DAO case
• The weaknesses in their argument that token holders relied on the effort of others
• Why the SEC did not prosecute the Slock.it founders
• Why the SEC will likely focus on token sales involving fraud
• How the SEC’s limited resources will make it hard for it to impact the ICO boom
• The implications of the SEC report for cryptocurrency exchanges

Episode links:

• SEC Press Release on The DAO
• SEC Report on Investigation of The DAO
• Seven Takeaways from the DAO Report - Kyle Mitchell
• EB134 – Emin Gün Sirer And Vlad Zamfir: On A Rocky DAO
• Nicolas Morgan Website
• The DAO Report: Understanding the Risk of SEC Enforcement - CoinDesk

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/198