Ethereum Q&A: Ether, ICOs, and securities

Is ether considered an initial coin offering and/or security token, considering its initial pre-sale and the popular use cases of the ether token on the platform? Does one necessarily imply the other? How strong is the case that it is a utility token? How do you evaluate these projects? What is the short-term versus long-term trend for tokenisation for investment, loyalty points, and product / service accessibility?

Note: I am not a lawyer, and there are different perspectives on this subject (including those in the Ethereum community who would describe the ether pre-sale - before it had "usability" - as an ICO: https://blog.ethereum.org/2014/07/22/launching-the-ether-sale/ https://qz.com/1075124/ethereum-founder-vitalik-buterin-discusses-initial-coin-offerings-the-consensus-algorithm-and-the-most-interesting-apps/). This was recorded months prior to the SEC's announcement regarding its interpretation of token sales and security tokens on June 14th.

These questions were part of the monthly live Patreon Q&A session on March 31st 2018 and the Capgemini CXO Forum at Pebble Beach on November 1-3rd 2017 in Monterey, California (https://youtu.be/rvwVbRQ5Ysc). If you want early-access to talks and a chance to participate in the monthly live Q&As with Andreas, become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/aantonop

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Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and respected figures in bitcoin.

Follow on Twitter: @aantonop https://twitter.com/aantonop
Website: https://antonopoulos.com/

He is the author of two books: “Mastering Bitcoin,” published by O’Reilly Media and considered the best technical guide to bitcoin; “The Internet of Money,” a book about why bitcoin matters.

THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Internet-Money-collection-Andreas-Antonopoulos/dp/1537000454/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

[NEW] THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v2: https://www.amazon.com/Internet-Money-Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/dp/194791006X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

MASTERING BITCOIN: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Bitcoin-Unlocking-Digital-Cryptocurrencies/dp/1449374042

[NEW] MASTERING BITCOIN, 2nd Edition: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Bitcoin-Programming-Open-Blockchain/dp/1491954388

Translations of MASTERING BITCOIN: https://bitcoinbook.info/translations-of-mastering-bitcoin/

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