Last weekend Hard Fork flew Seattle to attend NEOs second ever developer conference.
While there, I moderated a panel discussion aboutSecurity Token Offerings(STOs).
Moderating a panel is actually a great way of learning about the topic being discussed.
As the chair you get to ask questions, and get input from a range of backgrounds and perspectives.
Indeed, this panel was no different.
Panel members came from all over the globe, and have a broad range of involvement with STOs.
Heres what we learned about STOs and the challenges they bring for the blockchain community.
Its going to be a confusing global challenge
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But we rarely hear about them because theyre in places like Liechtenstein more on that later.
Its going to be a nightmare.
And by the SEC I mean, the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Despite STOs being a global challenge, we very much view their approval through an American lens.
Unless an STO is regulated through the US SEC we tend not to be interested.
Some have even gone so far as to say that ICOs are dead.
But we shouldnt view STOs as a throw in of ICO.
Indeed, using an STO as a funding mechanism then is to not utilize their full potential.
STOs are about creating ownership opportunities that are legally supported, regulated, and previously very difficult to offer.
However, were still waiting for the law to catch-up.
This difficult position is best described by something called theCollingridge Dilemma, theorized by its namesake David Collingridge.
Alternatively, if we wait for technologies to become entrenched, they are far more difficult to influence.
As Myint said, what makes it hard is the laws and governments move kind of slowly and calculated.
Thats the main hurdle we face.
We dont have a solution.
Indeed, while STOs are yet to take off we are actually in a good position.
We might not be able to foresee their impacts but we can influence them before its too late.
But besides regulation, how do we do that?
We need to keep educating and learning
As Tong explained, inChina we cant mentioned any STOs.
We can only report about the situation in other countries.
We want to provide knowledge about ICO.
Ng added, people are still confused about it.
So I feel there is a lot of education to be done.
STOs are a new thing, even for fulltime investors.
Story byMatthew Beedham
Matthew is the editor of SHIFT.
He likes electric cars, and other things with wheels, wings, or hulls.
