Similarities and differences in the issuance of securities and digital assets: The issue of legal responsibility of legal responsibility of the issuer

Abstract

The evolution of the financial market has given rise to new instruments of trade - digital assets. Considering the diversity and inhomogeneity of digital assets, the author analysed the legal position of digital tokens compared to that of securities, including their resembling features. Therefore, in the first part of the paper, the author analyses the issuance of digital assets. The central part of the paper is dedicated to a critical review and analysis of the issuer's legal responsibility for a faulty or deficient prospectus, that is, a white paper, with particular reference to the network of (passively) responsible individuals. Hence, this research aims to highlight the similarities and differences accompanying the issuance of securities and digital assets (tokens). Finally, using the normative and comparative method, the author concludes that despite the many advantages of legalizing the issuance and secondary trading of digital assets, the issuance of digital tokens is accompanied by risks and certain inequalities compared to the issuance of securities.

Keywords

• issuer's responsibility
• securities
• issuance of securities
• prospectus
• digital assets
• digital tokens
• initial coin offering
• white paper