Key findings Across all of the six sections, we have identified the following seven key findings at different levels: › Although the industry of security tokens is still relatively immature and the Security Token Offering (STO) concept still untested in most jurisdictions worldwide, there are already several progressive countries in which security tokens and STOs are accepted as a given fact and legally covered by national law. his goes for all of the nine countries participating in this report. They all legally accept T security tokens. They all allow for STOs to be conducted in their jurisdictions. And in all nine countries, it is even possible to run an STO without producing a full prospectus provided that the STO aims at raising less than a certain amount in total. › A majority of the countries amend existing laws and legal frameworks to include security tokens. So far, only a few of the countries participating in this report have decided to write new laws or create dedicated regulatory frameworks to legally encompass blockchain-based security tokens and/or crypto tokens in general. Most of the European countries represented refer to security tokens as financial instruments regulated by the EU directive MiFID ll. › The respondents from all nine countries state that both the governments and the regulatory authorities have a relatively high degree of understanding of security tokens and the STO concept. On a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 = ’Not knowledgeable at all on the topic’, 5 = ’Very knowledgeable’), the average score for governments in terms of knowledge is 3.9. For authorities, the average score on knowledge is 4.4. › None of the analysed countries has a hostile attitude towards security tokens. However, even among this group of assumed crypto progressive countries, the degree of friendliness towards crypto in general and the security token industry, in particular, differs relatively much. The most progressive countries have a sincere interest in and desire to be far-sighted and in front of the development, while the least progressive countries, more than anything, are interested in controlling what is going on in the crypto space and make sure that the new developments within the token economy industry do not represent a threat to the status quo and the reputation of the country - Malta is probably the best example of this. n a scale from 1 to 5 (where 1 = ’Unfriendly’, 5 = ’Very friendly’), the average score for O governments in terms of friendliness towards security tokens is 3.7. And for regulatory authorities, the average score on friendliness is 3.9. › When it comes to the more practical side of things in terms of finding relevant information and support, setting up a company, opening a bank account, conducting an STO, getting a prospectus approved by the local FSA (Ffinancial Ssupervisory Aauthority) (FSA) and so on, all of this is possible in all of the participating countries. Nevertheless, the level of easiness, convenience, and costs differ significantly even within this group of apparent frontrunners. For instance:
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The Security Token RegRadar Report
- a comparative regulatory analysis of nine countries
