In a novel approach for the biotechnology industry, small-cap company Agenus Inc. is aiming to raise $50 million to $100 million by issuing digital securities backed by future sales of an experimental cancer drug. The digital securities will allow investors to bet on future sales of single products and will have a limited impact on shareholders’ equity, the company said. Bloomberg
Just today, blockchain based crypto exchange, Blockport, has announced their intention to host an upcoming security token offering. This offering is expected to take place beginning in March, and to be held on the Tokeny platform. The team’s goal is to raise a minimum of $30 million EUR. This endeavour will take place in multiple stages, with the first stage expected to bring in the first $5 of a desired $30 million EUR. Securities.io
Another thing that has caused much controversy is the legality behind ICOs. In 2018, the SEC announced that it shut down several ICOs due to them not being properly registered. The same year, Kik, a messaging app, released $100 million worth of KIN, its native Token. This led the SEC to accuse the firm of running an unregistered ICO. Kik is pushing back against these allegations, arguing that their KIN tokens are not security tokens but rather utility tokens. BlockchainReporter
The UK FCA launched on 23 January 2019 its highly anticipated consultation1 (CP19/3) on Guidance for market participants as to where certain cryptoassets sit in relation to the regulatory perimeter – and whether relevant stakeholders need to be FCA authorised. Comments are due by 5 April. Lexology
TokenSoft is rolling out what it describes as the first cold-storage custody service designed specifically for security tokens. The company, which also helps other firms run legally-compliant token sales and has invested in a broker-dealer, is launching a beta version of the wallet to all of its existing and future customers today. Known as Knox (after the U.S. Army post where gold is held), it allows enterprises to maintain a multi-signature, self-custody system for different cryptocurrencies, as well as digital securities. CoinDesk