You’re launching a token into the United States. Where that token sits under financial services law decides most of your legal path.
Information, not advice
This page is information, not legal advice about your matter. A retainer begins only when a lawyer confirms it.
Start here
Work out what your token legally is, before you build around it
That one answer decides whether you are offering a security, which exemption you can rely on, and what you are allowed to say publicly.
What to work through, in order
Is the token a financial product?
Whether the token is a security under the Howey test, and whether it is instead or additionally a commodity within the CFTC’s remit. The analysis looks at the economic reality of the offer, including what purchasers are led to expect from the efforts of others.
Where the issuer sits
Delaware, Wyoming, or an offshore issuer. The choice interacts with which securities exemption is available, whether FinCEN registration as a money services business is required, and which state money transmitter regimes are engaged.
What you can say before launch
General solicitation is restricted under most private placement exemptions, and statements about future value can support a securities claim. The SEC and the FTC have each pursued promotional conduct independently of the offering itself.
Next steps
What happens if you go ahead
Scoping call
Written scope and fixed-fee quote
Engagement, once a lawyer confirms
Who would handle it
Offices
New York
450 Park Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York NY 10022
San Francisco
28 Geary Street, Suite 625 #133, San Francisco CA 94108