I think if you're offering your cryptocurrency/token in a crowdsale/ICO, then it should be seen as a security, because you're essentially offering people the opportunity to "invest" in your company's potential future.
I think we need to reconsider from the ground up how securities should be regulated. There's been some promising rhetoric with the Jobs act but it seems like mostly talk with the SEC dragging their feet.
I remember explaining Reg-D to a progressive friend of mine. His initial reaction was that I'm making the law up, and there's no way the government actively prevents non rich people from early stage investing. We took a bet and I won. When I told him reg-d is backed by progressives then all of a sudden he saw the value in it. Funny how that works.
Just because something is using a blockchain does not mean it's new, or that what is happening doesn't fall under existing securities law.
Paradigm shifts require new rules. You can't regulate a car the same way you regulate a horse. But when we allow buggy whip manufacturers to influence regulators for the interest of their personal bottom line, then the public looses while the intrenched interests win.
"Crypto is math based money so now the SEC is basically trying to regulate math. Any reasoning person will see the futility in that."
Any reasoning person will know that what you said is not accurate in the least.
"Paradigm shifts require new rules"
This is NOT a paradigm shift. Literally you are arguing to go back to the days when software was patentable, and that "on a computer" should be all that's required to get a patent.
"You can't regulate a car the same way you regulate a horse."
No, but I can regulate what they are trying to do, which is provide transportation, the same. Likewise, these coins are not doing anything new. They are doing the exact same thing, just in a new package.
- It is an investment of money
- There is an expectation of profits from the investment
- The investment of money is in a common enterprise
- Any profit comes from the efforts of a promoter or third party
There is no expectation of profit from a Kickstarter contribution. You are buying a product, and have no stake in the company.
You're not even doing that, since there is no guarantee of delivery.