The SEC Board has approved outsourcing work systems of ICO portals for increased efficiency. Amendments will allow outsourcing of system operations and certain due diligence tasks to strengthen the ecosystem and regulatory oversight.
The Securities and Exchange Commission Board (SEC Board) has resolved to approve the outsourcing of all work systems of ICO portals, including certain due diligence tasks, to third parties (outsourcees). This aims to increase flexibility and alignment with the nature of the business, foster the ecosystem of investment token offering services and enhance regulatory oversight efficiency.
The SEC Board has approved the principles for amending the regulations concerning ICO portals to allow the outsourcing of all system operations related to ICO portals, including certain due diligence tasks. This aims to increase flexibility and business efficiency, as well as to promote the roles of securities business operators (traditional players), thereby strengthening and enhancing the ecosystem. This will help investors access investment tokens more widely and provide businesses with more efficient fundraising channels.
In the case of due diligence, an ICO portal is able to outsource only a due diligence task related to either (1) Business (e.g., issuer information, business plans, digital token projects) or (2) Technology (e.g., source code in smart contracts or other mechanisms used in place of smart contracts) to the outsourcee. However, the ICO portal must obtain approval from the SEC before outsourcing any tasks related to such due diligence.
The SEC Board has also approved the proposal to amend other regulations related to ICO portals’ submission and disclosure of financial statements and actions in case of ICO portals’ failure to comply with governing regulations, to enhance efficiency and suitability of ICO portal supervision.
The SEC will draft amendments regarding the above matters to gather feedback from stakeholders before issuing notifications of the amendments for enforcement in due course.
