@lukestokes,
Few hours ago I did read this report and understood SEC is trying to control frauds which binds with ICO. I have no real gut to say this is wrong! Coz it needs to be controlled. Specially, it might be used by scammers, hackers and etc to do nasty things.
I personally have some bad experiences with ITO (Initial Token Offering). Anyway, this report bounce between goods and bads. After all it's not very easy to control, but with a control it might be secure investment to ICO investors too.
Cheers~
What bothers me is the assumption that "regulation" automatically means government. To me, the best and most effective form of regulation is done via distributed means with individual actors working in their own self interests, building trust with their customers and service providers. Chaotic systems can not be and should not be controlled, IMO. The best way to prevent "nasty things" is for people to do their due diligence and work with trusted individuals and organizations. We can't expect government to keep up with this technology and somehow protect us from our own stupid mistakes. It's our responsibility to do the research and understand what's going on. If that's too complicated, then we should turn to advisors who the market will pay for their expertise and trusted counsel. The battle between hackers, fraudsters, and those who want to justly innovate and participate will never be over, but it requires individual involvement. We have to rise up to meet the challenges of this new technology, get educated and make informed decisions. The longer we rely on centralized, bureaucratic solutions to our own problems, the longer we'll have to deal with government corruption, theft, and fraud on a massive scale.
Compared to what governments and central bankers do every single day to steal wealth from individuals through the manipulation of currency for the benefit of their cronies, the worst ICO scammers are saints.