Blockchain Legal Resource

On November 19, 2020, IMVU, Inc. (“IMVU”) received no-action relief from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) confirming that the Division of Corporate Finance will not recommend enforcement action against IMVU for selling its digital asset, VCOIN. IMVU intends to issue and sell VCOIN for immediate use within its online three-dimensional avatar-based social community, “IMVU.” IMVU will supply an unlimited number of VCOIN at a fixed price of $0.004 per VCOIN to replace its current system of providing in-platform “credits” for participants to use to purchase virtual goods and services within the platform.

Providing additional clarity on the role of an alternative trading system (ATS) in the settlement of digital asset security trades, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets issued a no-action letter to FINRA on September 25, 2020.  In brief, the SEC staff endorsed a three-step settlement process for digital asset securities held in a third-party’s custody if certain customer-protection conditions are met.

Hunton Andrews Kurth attorney, Mayme Beth Donohue, member of the firm’s blockchain working group, was recently interviewed as part of the University of Virginia’s new podcast series, Common Law, exploring cutting-edge issues about the future of law. Mayme discussed various practical applications of blockchain, including supply chain management, product authenticity and blockchain-based mortgages, and how in-house lawyers should think about issue spotting blockchain implementations.

An audio recording of the interview is now available.