【国际】EtherDelta被起诉之后，去中心化交易所会不会成为美国证交会的新目标？

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【国际】EtherDelta被起诉之后，去中心化交易所会不会成为美国证交会的新目标？

2018 年 11 月 12 日 互联网金融

与EtherDelta创始人达成和解，可能是美国证券交易委员会(SEC)针对加密货币交易所采取执法行动的开始。

最近美国证交会对加密货币行业的审查主要集中在那些可能违反证券法、通过ICO筹集资金的项目和团队。但一位熟悉SEC想法的人士周四告诉CoinDesk，加密货币交易平台已成为该机构执法部门的一个重要优先目标。

因此，美国证交会指控EtherDelta创始人Zachary Coburn经营一家未经注册的证券交易所，可以被视为是对token交易平台的一次打击。

纽约大学法学院兼职教授安德鲁•辛克斯(Andrew Hinkes)表示:

此时，如果你正在与美国人进行加密货币交易，你可能需要一封没有进行交易的证明，或者从律师那里得到有关你是否涉及证券法的明确信息。

虽然针对EtherDelta的诉讼是美国证交会针对加密货币交易所的首次诉讼，但Hinkes告诉CoinDesk:我很惊讶SEC花了这么长时间（才采取行动）。

此外，该案例还表明，即使所谓的去中心化交易所(DEXs)轻易地关闭，并不意味着没人需要对其负责。在不承认或否认这些指控的情况下，Coburn同意根据和解协议支付总计38.8万美元的罚金、退款以及利息。

Hinkes说:

这说明交易所不会因为使用分布式节点而不是中心化的服务器就会受到任何特殊的优待，这并不意味着任何潜在的责任都消失了。值得注意的是，尽管Coburn在2017年底就离开了EtherDelta，但SEC还是采取了行动。美国证交会称，该平台上基于以太坊token的交易发生在2016年7月12日至2017年12月17日之间，时间是在他离职之前。

伯恩律师事务所(Byrne & Storm, P.C.)合伙人普雷斯顿•伯恩(Preston Byrne)表示:

不管你是一年前还是几年前出售或经营这家公司，美国证券法都将会执行。另一方面，这也说明了Coburn的处罚仅仅是六位数的罚款。他并没有被禁止参与资本市场活动，部分原因是因为他与美国证交会的合作，后者希望其他运营或者计划运营类似平台的人首先与证交会接触。

Byrne说:

在这种情况下，企业家与SEC充分合作通常是个好主意。这表明SEC愿意与配合他们工作的人合作。

去中心化是相对的

退一步说，自从2017年的token销售热潮以来，许多去中心化的交易平台出现了，在这些平台上，基于以太坊的资产经常在没有任何授权实体监督的情况下进行交易。

根据DappRadar的数据，领先的去中心化交易平台IDEX在过去24小时内拥有大约1,401名用户。就EtherDelta而言，过去24小时内，EtherDelta的交易量约为1,079笔，较前24小时减少约11%。

尽管美国证交会尚未澄清在EtherDelta交易所交易的哪些token被视为有价证券，但这一行动暗示，监管机构认为谁应为去中心化的技术负责。

谈到SEC的命令，以及它与最流行的ICO代币ERC-20的关系，Hinkes说:

报告称，他(Coburn)创建了一家公司，编写并部署了智能合约，并对公司的运营实施了完全的控制。基于这一点，他应该知道他的行为违反了《交易法》。在Hinkes看来，这为以太坊和比特币做出贡献的开发者带来了一系列法律问题。他说，如果技术人员忽视对如何使用软件进行限制，那么仅仅编写和执行代码就有可能使技术人员在未来受到法律制裁。

Hinkes说：

EtherDelta本来可以选择过滤掉某些token，由于没有这样做，他们对一切都敞开了大门，包括根据ERC-20发行的证券。

总部位于华盛顿的安德森·基尔律师事务所的合伙人斯蒂芬·帕利（Stephen Palley）告诉CoinDesk，不管法院最终认为哪些特定的token是未经注册的证券，根据他对SEC命令的解读，EtherDelta的大部分交易都来自“购买和出售未经注册的证券”。

战斗还是逃跑

在Byrne看来，美国证交会的执法行动可能会促使更多的加密货币公司避免在美国开展业务。

Byrne说:

在海外，新加坡和英国的法律对ICO和token更加友好。加密货币企业家的主要任务将是“我们如何在这些司法管辖区最大化我们的机会，同时减少我们对美国监管机构的曝光，以及我们在开展海外业务时如何遵守美国法律。

与此同时，总部位于美国的去中心化交易平台AirSwap正通过与正规持牌证券经销商合作，为不透明的监管环境制定策略。

AirSwap联合创始人迈克尔·奥维德(Michael Oved)告诉CoinDesk：

与其他平台不同，AirSwap不参与交易活动。没有订单，没有订单匹配，也没有交易费。我们的做法是积极主动地寻求建议，并对监管机构保持透明。

在美国运营的几家交易所包括AirSwap的竞争对手在内的Everbloom公司都避免向交易员收取费用，以降低法律风险。Hinkes说，SEC最近的命令可能会削弱这种做法。

Hinkes说:

是否收取费用似乎与他们的判决无关，他们认为，EtherDelta作为一种交易所，应该进行注册，并且应该在豁免的条件下进行交易。

有一点是可以肯定的，美国证交会还远未结束对该行业的全面调查。Palley将这一调查比作一部五幕剧，他说:

他们正在进行数十项调查，我认为我们会看到更多的新闻发布，以及更多的执法行动。这当然不是什么结束，这可能是第二幕的结束和第三幕的开始。

英文原文

The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) settlement with the founder of EtherDelta is likely the first of many enforcement actions to come against crypto token exchanges.

Until recently, the SEC's scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry largely focused on projects and teams that raised money through initial coin offerings (ICOs) in possible violation of securities laws. But a person familiar with the SEC's thinking told CoinDesk Thursday that crypto trading platforms have become a significant priority for the agency's enforcement division.

As such, the news that the SEC had charged EtherDelta founder Zachary Coburn with operating an unregistered securities exchange can be seen as a shot across the bow of token-trading platforms.

"At this point, if you're doing an exchange of crypto assets, dealing with U.S. persons, you probably need to get either a no-action letter or get clarity from counsel about whether you are implicating securities laws," said Andrew Hinkes, an adjunct professor at the New York University School of Law.

And while the EtherDelta action was the SEC's first against a crypto exchange, Hinkes told CoinDesk:

I'm surprised it took this long.

Further, the case shows that even if so-called decentralized exchanges (DEXs) cannot be easily shut down, that does mean no one will be held liable for their activities. Without admitting or denying the charges, Coburn agreed to pay a total of $388,000 in penalties, disgorgement and interest under the settlement.

"This tells you that an exchange that used a distributed set of nodes instead of a centralized server isn't going to be treated any differently," Hinkes said. "Just because you make it and then it gets operated by a decentralized network of others doesn't mean that any prospective responsibility or liability is gone. It's just possibly relocated."

And notably, the action was taken against Coburn even though he left EtherDelta in late 2017. The trades of ethereum-based tokens on the platform cited by SEC took place between July 12, 2016 and December 17, 2017, around the time of his departure.

"It doesn't matter whether you sell the business or operated it a year ago or a few years ago," said Preston Byrne, a partner at the law firm Byrne & Storm, P.C. "American securities laws are going to be enforced."

On the other hand, it's also telling that Coburn's penalty was merely a low-six-figure fine. He wasn't banned from participating in capital markets, in part because he cooperated with the SEC, which wants other individuals running or planning to run similar platforms to reach out to the agency first.

"The entrepreneur, in this case, cooperated fully with the commission, which is often a good idea," Byrne said. "It shows the SEC is willing to work with people who are willing to work with them."

Decentralization is relative

Stepping back, since the token sale craze of 2017, numerous DEX platforms have emerged where ethereum-based assets are often swapped without oversight from any licensed entity.

According to DappRadar, the leading DEX platform IDEX had roughly 1,401 users over the past 24 hours. With regards to EtherDelta specifically, there were roughly 1,079 trades on EtherDelta over the past 24 hours, about 11 percent less than in the previous 24-hour period.

Although the SEC hasn't clarified which tokens that traded on EtherDelta it considered securities, this action hinted at who regulators consider liable for purportedly decentralized technologies.

Speaking of the SEC order and how it relates to the most popular form of ICO token, the ERC-20, Hinkes said:

It says that he [Coburn] founded a company, wrote and deployed the smart contract and exercised complete and sole control over the operations. Based on that, he should have known that his actions would contribute to the violation of the Exchange Act.

In Hinkes' mind, this opens up a variety of legal questions for developers contributing to ethereum and bitcoin. It's entirely possible that merely writing and executing code could make technologists vulnerable to legal action in the future if they neglect to create limitations for how that software is used, he said.

"EtherDelta could have elected to filter out certain tokens," Hinkes said. "By not doing so, they opened themselves up for everything, including securities that are issued under ERC-20."

Regardless of which specific tokens are eventually deemed by courts to be unregistered securities, Stephen Palley, a partner at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Anderson Kill, told CoinDesk his reading of the order implies the majority of EtherDelta's volume came from "the purchase and sale of unregistered securities."

Fight or flight

From Byrne's point of view, the SEC's enforcement action could inspire more cryptocurrency companies to avoid having operations in the United States.

"There are hubs overseas, Singapore, England, where the laws are much friendlier toward ICOs and tokens," Byrne said. "The principal task of cryptocurrency entrepreneurs will be 'how do we maximize our opportunities in those jurisdictions while limiting our exposure to American regulators, and also compliance with American laws, as we conduct business overseas?'"

Meanwhile, the U.S.-based DEX startup AirSwap is strategizing for the opaque regulatory climate by partnering with licensed securities dealers and avoiding order books altogether.

"Unlike other platforms, AirSwap doesn't engage in exchange activities–it has no order book, no order matching, and no transaction fees," AirSwap co-founder Michael Oved told CoinDesk. "Our approach has been to be proactive in seeking advice and to be transparent with regulators."

Several exchanges operating in the U.S., including AirSwap's rival Everbloom, avoid charging traders fees in an effort to reduce legal risks. Hinkes said this recent order may undercut such approaches.

"It doesn't appear that taking a fee is relevant to their analysis of whether EtherDelta was acting as an exchange that should have registered or proceeded under an exemption, or not," Hinkes said.

This much is certain, the SEC is far from finished with its sweep of the industry, which Palley compared to a five-act play, saying:

They've got dozens and dozens of investigations going on. I think we'll see more press releases, more enforcement actions. This is certainly not the end of anything. This is maybe the end of Act 2 and the beginning of Act 3.

作者：Leigh Cuen and Nikhilesh De
编译：节奏大师
稿源（译）：巴比特资讯