美国证券交易委员会现在正在研究加密货币资本漏斗的起点——风险投资公司

据熟悉美国证券交易委员会调查的消息人士透露，美国证券交易委员会今年已传唤至少三家加密货币风险投资公司。

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has subpoenaed at least three crypto venture capital firms this year, a source familiar with the SEC’s investigation told DL News.

一位熟悉 SEC 调查的消息人士告诉 DL News，美国证券交易委员会今年已传唤至少三家加密货币风险投资公司。

One subpoena was titled “in the matter of certain crypto asset offering intermediaries,” according to the first page viewed by DL News.

根据 DL News 查看的第一页，其中一张传票的标题是“关于某些加密资产提供中介机构的问题”。

“The staff of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting an investigation relating to the above-referenced matter to determine if violations of the federal securities laws may have occurred,” the page reads.

该页面写道：“美国证券交易委员会的工作人员正在对上述事项进行调查，以确定是否可能发生违反联邦证券法的情况。”

DL News viewed the subpoena on the condition that it not reveal whom the SEC targeted.

DL News 查看传票的条件是不透露 SEC 的目标对象。

The SEC’s investigation of crypto VCs signals that the agency is now looking at the beginning of the crypto capital funnel — the investors from whom the vast majority of crypto startups get their initial cash.

美国证券交易委员会对加密货币风险投资公司的调查表明，该机构现在正在关注加密货币资本漏斗的起点——绝大多数加密初创公司从投资者那里获得初始现金。

At least two other crypto VCs received essentially identical document requests, said the person, who declined to be named citing restrictions on commenting publicly on the matter.

这位不愿透露姓名的人士表示，至少还有另外两家加密货币风险投资公司收到了基本相同的文件请求，理由是对此事公开评论受到限制。

The subpoenas sent to the crypto VCs asked for any contract for any token deal the investors have ever done, the source added.

消息人士补充说，发送给加密货币风险投资公司的传票要求投资者提供曾经做过的任何代币交易的任何合同。

“It’s an overreaching fishing expedition and an incredibly expensive one,” said a lawyer at a crypto VC unaffected by the subpoenas.

一家未受传票影响的加密货币风险投资公司的律师表示：“这是一次过度的钓鱼探险，而且成本极其昂贵。”

The lawyer, who had previously heard about the investigation before he spoke with DL News, asked not to be named speaking publicly about the SEC.

这位律师在接受 DL News 采访之前就已经听说过这项调查，在公开谈论 SEC 时要求不透露姓名。

Elisha Kobre, an attorney at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings who specializes in securities and commodities fraud, said that SEC scrutiny of VCs is plausible.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings 专门从事证券和商品欺诈的律师 Elisha Kobre 表示，SEC 对风险投资公司的审查是合理的。

“It’s a natural additional enforcement area that the SEC would consider pursuing,” he told DL News.

“这是 SEC 自然会考虑追求的额外执法领域，”他告诉 DL News。

Widening crypto crackdown

扩大加密货币打击力度

The development follows earlier hints that the SEC crackdown on crypto is widening.

此前有迹象表明美国证券交易委员会对加密货币的打击力度正在扩大。

In July, Ari Paul, the chief investment officer of institutional investor BlockTower Capital, said in a podcast that the agency is investigating crypto VCs.

7 月，机构投资者 BlockTower Capital 的首席投资官 Ari Paul 在播客中表示，该机构正在调查加密货币风险投资公司。

However, Paul did not elaborate on who is being targeted or the nature of the investigations.

然而，保罗没有详细说明谁是目标或调查的性质。

And he did not respond to a request for comment from DL News.

他没有回应 DL News 的置评请求。

“The SEC does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation,” an SEC spokesperson told DL News.

“SEC 不会对是否存在可能的调查发表评论，”SEC 发言人告诉 DL News。

After the fall of crypto exchange FTX in November 2022, the SEC has cracked down on the digital assets industry.

2022年11月加密货币交易所FTX倒闭后，SEC对数字资产行业进行了打击。

It targeted influencers and projects including billionaire Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain, and Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs awaiting extradition to his native South Korea.

它针对的影响者和项目包括亿万富翁孙宇晨（Tron 区块链创始人）和等待引渡到祖国韩国的 Terraform Labs 创始人 Do Kwon。

In June 2023, it sued Binance and Coinbase, and it recently told Uniswap, a decentralized exchange, that it was the target of pending litigation.

2023 年 6 月，它起诉了币安和 Coinbase，最近又告诉去中心化交易所 Uniswap，它是未决诉讼的目标。

Statutory underwriters

法定承销商

Paul, the BlockTower Capital executive, speculated that the SEC’s investigation was prompted because the agency suspected that VCs may be acting as marketers of tokens.

BlockTower Capital 高管保罗推测，SEC 的调查是因为该机构怀疑风险投资公司可能充当代币营销商。

When some investors hype up a token, that could be construed as acting as a securities dealer, Paul said.

保罗说，当一些投资者炒作某种代币时，这可能会被理解为充当证券交易商。

The source familiar with the investigation said the financial regulator may be interested in whether crypto VCs are “statutory underwriters.”

熟悉调查的消息人士表示，金融监管机构可能对加密货币风险投资公司是否是“法定承销商”感兴趣。

Statutory underwriters are broker dealers that buy securities with the intent to distribute them to the public.

法定承销商是购买证券并意图将其分发给公众的经纪交易商。

Many crypto startups submit records of token fundraises to the SEC.

许多加密初创公司向 SEC 提交代币筹款记录。

However, startups usually file for an exemption from the registration of their securities with the agency, since they’re only offering accredited investors the right to future tokens.

然而，初创公司通常会向该机构申请证券注册豁免，因为它们只向合格投资者提供未来代币的权利。

The SEC is therefore interested in whether these accredited investors are proxies for token issuers to release unregistered securities to the wider retail market, the source said.

消息人士称，因此，美国证券交易委员会对这些经过认可的投资者是否是代币发行人向更广泛的零售市场发行未注册证券的代理人感兴趣。

“It poisons the initial issuance,” the person added, in reference to what happens when investors allegedly sell tokens to the public market.

这位人士补充道，“这会毒害首次发行”，指的是据称投资者向公开市场出售代币时会发生什么。