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Odaily News, SEC published the proposed rules for "Regulation Crypto Assets" on August 18, which set two exemptions for specific investment contracts involving crypto assets: allowing startups to raise up to $5 million in a single offering within 4 years, and allowing eligible issuers to raise up to $75 million within any 12-month period, potentially conducting different rounds of offerings in subsequent years. Drew Hinkes, a partner at Winston & Strawn, stated that as long as each round of financing constitutes a separate and independent offering, projects could theoretically raise $75 million every 12 months. Lilya Tessler, head of Sidley's Fintech and Blockchain practice, noted that subsequent offerings are not automatically approved; issuers must resubmit offering statements, undergo SEC staff review, continue to file annual and semi-annual reports, and disclose funds raised through the exemption over the past 12 months to confirm that the fundraising cap has not been exceeded. The proposed rules also limit the participation size of non-accredited investors, whose purchase amount cannot exceed 10% of the higher of their annual income or net worth. Lee Reiners, a financial regulation expert at Duke University, stated that the limited initial offering amount may make early token allocations more attractive, but the rules are unlikely to recreate the ICO boom of 2017. Up to 90% of projects that raised funds through ICOs between 2017 and 2019 ultimately failed. The SEC estimates that approximately 130 offerings per year will use the two exemptions, and about 475 issuers may use the broader investment contract safe harbor. The proposed rules will provide token issuers with a clearer path for U.S. fundraising compared to the current framework, but secondary market trading may still involve a gray area regarding securities attributes. The proposal stipulates that investment contracts related to crypto assets may continue to transfer with the tokens in secondary market transactions until the asset is separated from the issuer's representations or commitments. Drew Hinkes stated that if a non-security token is transferred along with an investment contract from seller to buyer, the transaction could still be deemed a securities transaction, potentially affecting trading platforms. Lee Reiners also noted that some issuers might satisfy the formal requirements of the exemptions while still influencing token value through team management efforts, concentrated insider holdings, and aggressive promotion.
Ophelia Snyder, co-founder of 21Shares, stated that although tokenization can address practical issues such as settlement efficiency and asset liquidity, there remains a significant cognitive gap between the crypto industry and traditional financial institutions regarding this topic.She pointed out that the greater challenge currently lies in integrating blockchain assets with the existing systems of banks, brokerages, and asset management companies. Market discussions often overlook the operational环节 between trade execution and final settlement. While the blockchain industry has made progress in transaction throughput, it still falls short of meeting the demands of traditional financial institutions in areas such as bookkeeping, compliance processes, regulatory reporting, and risk management for 24/7 trading.Ophelia Snyder also noted that most financial institutions rely on third-party software vendors that have yet to fully adapt their systems for blockchain-native transactions. She believes the biggest bottleneck the industry currently faces is achieving large-scale adoption, rather than the functionality itself. (CoinDesk)
as anticipation builds for several potential major IPOs, "prediction market trading" centered around high-profile pre-IPO companies is rapidly heating up, with users betting on pre-IPO performance through prediction contracts.Platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi have become primary channels, allowing users to engage in "yes/no" contract trading on key metrics such as valuation ranges and listing timelines. Prices are quoted in cents, settling at $1 if the outcome is correct.Given that ordinary investors cannot directly participate in equity investments in popular private companies like SpaceX and OpenAI before their IPOs, prediction markets are converting related expectations into tradeable, event-driven assets.Analysts believe that as the window for potential "mega IPOs" approaches, prediction markets are leveraging public sentiment and capital attention to turn IPO narratives into short-term volatility opportunities on both on-chain and compliant trading platforms, further expanding their influence in financial speculation and information pricing. (The Information)