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ICOS AND THE RISE OF E-MONEY AND VIRTUAL CURRENCIES
Synopsis
The year 2017 was the year that Initial Coin Offering (ICO) took the world by storm. In June 2017, ICO funding had hit USD550 million and for the first time exceeded angel and seed funding, as noted by Goldman Sachs. In 2017, there were 92 ICOs which collectively raised USD1.25 billion. Many ICO startups have sprouted and while some have succeeded, many have failed. PWC recently reported that between January and May this year, Singapore alone raised USD1.1 billion through ICOs.
Many financial and legal experts believe that ICOs and cryptocurrency investments lack fundamentals. Yet some major institutional players appear to have entered the space.
How does one then distinguish a genuine ICO from a scam? What fundamentals are there in ICO and cryptocurrency investments? This introductory lunchtime talk discusses these questions. It will explore the legal and functional definitions of money, e-money and virtual currency. In this regard, the draft Payment Services Bill will be discussed.
While this may be an introductory talk on the fundamentals of the world of ICO and cryptocurrency, it will be most beneficial for professional advisers, government officials, academics and other industry stakeholders who already have knowledge or a strong interest in the law of money and technological developments in blockchain, cryptocurrency and payment systems.
About the Speaker
Chia-Ling Koh Director of Singapore Law Practice
OC Queen Street LLC Singapore
Chia Ling is a digital business lawyer trained in AI (MTech KE) and Cyber Security (CISSP). He practices IP, IT, Data & Disputes.
Chia Ling is also the Managing Director of OC Queen Street, a ranked Singapore law practice and a member of Osborne Clarke’s international legal practice. He leads a team of digital business lawyers supporting businesses in AI, FinTech, Blockchain, ICO, ePayments, Cyber Security and e-commerce.
OC Queen Street’s core practice areas include IT, Telco, Media, Data Protection, IP, Patent & Copyright Disputes, Investment Funds, M&A, PE, VC, Competition, Banking and Finance and Regulatory.
Chia Ling’s practice has been recognised in Chambers as well as the inaugural FinTech chapter of Who’s Who Legal: Banking 2018.
SILE Accredited CPD Activity
This programme is an Accredited CPD Activity under the SILE’s CPD Scheme. Participants who wish to obtain CPD Points are reminded that they must comply strictly with the Attendance Policy set out in the CPD Guidelines. For this activity, this includes signing in on arrival and signing out at the conclusion of the activity in the manner required by the organiser, and not being absent from the entire activity for more than 15 minutes. Participants who do not comply with the Attendance Policy will not be able to obtain CPD Points for attending the activity. Please refer to http://www.silecpdcentre.sg for more information.
The Centre for Cross-Border Commercial Law in Asia (CEBCLA) would like to thank Capgemini for their support of the event.
About Capegemini
A global leader in consulting, technology services and digital transformation, Capgemini is at the forefront of innovation to address the entire breadth of clients’ opportunities in the evolving world of cloud, digital and platforms. Building on its strong 50-year heritage and deep industry-specific expertise, Capgemini enables organizations to realize their business ambitions through an array of services from strategy to operations. Capgemini is driven by the conviction that the business value of technology comes from and through people. It is a multicultural company of 200,000 team members in over 40 countries. The Group reported 2017 global revenues of EUR 12.8 billion.