Poet Network Blog

We summarize the facts about securities regulation.

A framework for understanding which tokens fall outside of the Howey test definition of a security.

When a token is not a security.

A plain English explanation of the Howey test and investment contracts.

> TLDR: An investment contract is a type of security. Many securities exist, and they don’t have to be typical stocks and bonds. When selling an investment contract in the US, companies and DAOs are subject to federal securities laws. All they have to do is register their token with the SEC, and disclose complete and truthful information to the investors who buy that token.

Crypto companies and DAOs issuing tokens must determine if they are (or will become) subject to U.S. federal securities laws. Tokens that are sold as *investment contracts* are securities, which means the laws would apply. Many things can be categorized as securities — stocks, bonds, transferable shares, governance and utility tokens, income share agreements (which is what most “creator tokens” are) and more.

Any contract or agreement that is sold to investors with implied or promised expectation of future profit should be considered a security. Using the money raised from token sale to build the product offering classifies the token as an investment contract.

When selling an investment contract or a security, certain information must be disclosed to investors. The purpose of disclosure is reduction of informational asymmetries that may exist between the builders and the investors. One important piece of disclosure covers how the builders (and their effort) will affect the success of the enterprise.

## Framework for analyzing an investment contract

Because investment contracts fall under securities, the same reasoning as the Howey test applies. The SEC staff [offers a framework](https://www.sec.gov/corpfin/framework-investment-contract-analysis-digital-assets) for figuring out if a token is a security in their effort to help. The SEC itself [neither approves nor disapproves](https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/statement-framework-investment-contract-analysis-digital-assets) its content.


1. **The investment of money** is satisfied when the token is purchased. It can be bought using fiat currency, another token, or other methods that exchange value for value. For example, giving tokens in exchange for services rendered to further the goals of the token issuer would qualify the sale as *the investment of money*.
2. **In the common enterprise** means pooling each individual investment with other investments into the same enterprise, where distribution of future profits is proportional to the amount invested.
3. **Relying on the efforts of others** whose expertise and decision-making impacts the success of the business that sells the token. This includes creating or supporting a market for the token and its price. One example of how price can be supported is by limiting token supply to ensure scarcity, and building-in burning mechanisms or buyback schemes.
4. **With reasonable expectation of profits** that range from capital appreciation to participation in income sharing. The first part is applicable when investors can sell their tokens on a secondary market to realize their gains. The second part applies when holding a token gives investors rights to dividends or distributions earnings.

## When the token might *not* be considered an investment contract

When assessing if there might be a reasonable expectation of future profits, US federal courts look at whether the token is bought to be used or consumed. If people buy the token not as an investment, expecting it to become more valuable over time, a few characteristics of its use are considered.

* The network on which the token can be used is operational and holders are able and incentivized to use their tokens immediately
* Token is built to maintain constant value or degrade over time, making it unattractive as an investment
* If it’s meant to be used as currency, holders can use it without converting it to another token or fiat
* Token can be used to buy goods or services on the network it runs on, and is the easiest way to pay for them
* Increase in token price is incidental and corresponds with how much demand there is for it
* Token is marketed for use on the network and not as an investment

### Next in our editorial calendar

* How to register a token as a security with the SEC
* When is a token not a security?
* What is a broker-dealer in crypto?
* When tokens fall under the Safe Harbour proposal

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What classifies a token as an investment contract.

A plain English definition of what a security is, using the Howey test, and the 1st DAO as an example.

# Are DAO tokens securities according to the SEC?

> TLDR: If you sell someone an instrument or a contract that promises future returns because of the work you’ll do with their money, you are selling a security. An investment DAO’s “governance token” would be a security if the DAO promised or implied that the token’s price would increase because of that DAO’s investments. Majority of governance, utility, and membership tokens are securities.

## The story to date

The first DAO on Ethereum was formed by a German company [Slock.it](https://Slock.it) to “build projects”. It sold tokens to investors to fund them, and promised to share future profits. Investors were allowed to and had ability to re-sell their tokens on trading platforms. Before the DAO could work on any projects, it was hacked, and 1/3 of its funds were stolen. The DAO found a way to get them back.

The SEC investigated the DAO to discern if its tokens were securities and found that they were, under both the [1933 Securities](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-1884/pdf/COMPS-1884.pdf) and [1934 Securities Exchange](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/COMPS-1885/pdf/COMPS-1885.pdf) acts.

## The definition of a security

A security includes an “investment contract”. That means an *investment of money* in a *company, org, venture, or a project*, with the *expectation of profiting* from the investment that you get *because of work others perform* through their entrepreneurial or managerial efforts. The definition is laid out in sections Section 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act and 3(a)(10) of the Exchange Act and is popularly known as the Howey test.

The definition is meant to be flexible rather than formulaic. How the token is used is more important than what it's called. A "utility token" is not exempt from being defined as a security because it has "utility" in the protocol, such as governance. If the company used it to raise money and gave investors expected of future profits, it's a security.

## Where modern DAOs stand on the regulatory landscape

The act of “investing” in something can take on the form of “investing goods and services” and not money. When a group of people or firms jointly pursue shared (i.e. *common*) goals, they become responsible for success or failure of that enterprise. Any contract they *sell* and promise *others* future *profits* is a security.

Yes, a lot of DAO tokens are securities by definition.

##  What about DAOs that mint tokens but the members perform the work themselves?

The token would be a security if:

1. Members (who buy the token to get access to the DAO) own so few tokens that they can't influence its direction through a vote

2. Members are so inexperienced in the business operations that they are incapable of exercising their partnership powers

3. Members are dependent on unique entrepreneurial or managerial abilities of DAO's founders, leaders, and promoters that they cannot replace them or otherwise exercise meaningful partnership or membership powers.

## Is it bad for the token to be called a security?

No, it just has to be registered to afford its issuers and investors adequate legal protection.

### Next in our editorial calendar

- How to register a token as a security
- Is a token an investment contract?
- When is a token not a security?
- What is a broker-dealer in crypto?
- When tokens fall under the Safe Harbour proposal.

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