Token issuance: Gain insight into the legal operating models around token issuance in the ICO and crypto market

Albeit the ICO and crypto market is in its post hype winter after the big collapse of crypto currencies and ICOs in 2018, a silver lining is noticeable with major regulators admitting first companies with crypto / token bearing products. With its market cap still being north of USD 135 bn. with plus 3000 different tradeable tokens, new products surface the markets as the likes of security token offerings (STOs). This new more mature wave of token models might have the potential to spur mass adoption and enter the corporation realms. As soon as the maturity of market increases after the 2018 dent, survivors are more likely to have sounder businesses, emerging custodial services can boost re-gained trust further. Companies start to act now as legal frameworks are establishing and competitors are prepping up and are thinking about entering this still infant type of financing/utility instruments face many challenging decisions in order to avoid mistakes driven by a fear of missing out. The entire lifecycle of token emissions needs to be taken into consideration, starting with the strategy, whether or not to issue tokens, the choice of the token type and the token design and execution of the offering. As this is highly regulatory driven and has a manifold of legal ramifications, a key determinant of the success of the token offering lies with the legal structure and set-up. What should be considered to help them take the right design decisions? Gain insight into the factors to consider whilst designing your legal operating model around token issuance. The topic should be of interest across business units, but with its focus on legal aspects in particular to general counsels and innovation teams of start-ups up to multinational companies, heads of operations for in-house legal functions, legal COOs, legal CFOs, and in-house legal practitioners.(Live presentation was aired on 3 Apr 2019)