An Essay on Minimum Disclosure Requirements for Cryptocurrency & Utility Token Issuers

20 Pages Posted: 3 Jun 2020 Last revised: 24 Jun 2020

See all articles by Nicholas J. Krapels

Nicholas J. Krapels

East China Normal University (ECNU); SKEMA Business School

Daniel Liebau

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), Rotterdam School of Management (RSM); Singapore Management University

Date Written: May 22, 2020

Abstract

Information asymmetries in financial markets are not a new phenomenon. In a recent poll conducted amongst 76 industry experts, a staggering 83% of participants stated they do not believe utility token issuers disclose enough information to their stakeholders. This essay provides actionable recommendations for disclosure that increase financial and non-financial transparency. These recommendations are valuable for utility token issuers, buyers, intermediaries, and regulators. Financial details include token issuer information, initial and current cash positions as well as token treasury information. Non-financial information includes contact information, project progress updates, and open-source software components. We highlight exemplary token issuers and conclude with the expectation that increasing the amount of information-rich project disclosures should assist in the expansion of the blockchain industry in general. Initial evidence suggests that minimum disclosure best practices also positively affect cryptocurrency and utility token prices.

Keywords: Asymmetric & Private Information, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Disclosures, Financial Markets, Governance, Information & Market Efficiency, Regulation, Transparency, Utility Tokens

JEL Classification: D53, D82, G14, G18, G34, K22

Suggested Citation

Krapels, Nicholas and Liebau, Daniel and Liebau, Daniel, An Essay on Minimum Disclosure Requirements for Cryptocurrency & Utility Token Issuers (May 22, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3607821 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3607821

Nicholas Krapels

East China Normal University (ECNU) ( email )

North Zhongshan Road Campus
3663 N. Zhongshan Rd.
Shanghai, Shanghai 200062
China

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nicholas_Krapels

SKEMA Business School ( email )

创新区仁爱路99号
工业园区独墅湖科教A4 & A5
Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123
China

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholaskrapels/

Daniel Liebau (Contact Author)

Singapore Management University

Li Ka Shing Library
70 Stamford Road
Singapore 178901, 178899
Singapore

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) ( email )

P.O. Box 1738
Room T08-21
3000 DR Rotterdam, 3000 DR
Netherlands

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