You guys should read something -
http://www.sec.gov/info/smallbus/qasbsec.htm#noreg and ascertain whether it applies in our collective case. I would be hard-pressed to believe that any of you would think otherwise. Given that Creativex is an American citizen, it is in his best interest to remain silent now and possibly forever on the subject of bASIC-mining. We all jumped in and took the risk without fully understanding the regulations and consequences of our actions. It is time for us to grow up and take responsibility for those actions. Perhaps what is really needed at this time is a defence fund for Creativex rather than a scammer tag! You people are the scammers. You are probably in violation of federal and state laws which hardly gives you the authority to second-guess the integrity of Creativex. I would hope that he is retaining counsel if it is required and it would be nice if someone with the know-how would set up a defence fund on his behalf. Does anyone here have that knowledge?
Creativex - if you are reading this - take care of yourself.
no dollars changed hands... as I understand it creativeX only exchanged BTC for dollars to buy mining gear if he even purchased anything in USD.
this is not the same thing as trendon shavers who duped a lot of people into giving him bitcoins and then exchanged them for dollars to fund his gambling habits....
does this mean that people who run WOW guilds and distribute a share of fat loot also have to register with the SEC?
does this mean that EVE online has to register as a money service business?
I'm not a legal expert but the way most tax authorities around the world have taken a position on virtual currencies is when they are exchanged for Fiat currency.. and by logical extension this should also apply to the way the SEC views virtual shares in a virtual business which deal solely in virtual currencies.
as we have seen with the Trendon shavers case... the SEC only gets involved when someone loses a whole lot of real money and files a complaint.
it doesn't seem like money (real or virtual) has been lost in the case of Basic-Mining so I don't think we have too much to worry about at this point.
PS I was watching a doco the other day where the chairman of ASIC (Australias version of SEC) spelled out loud and clear that ASICs primary focus is to go after fraud cases where retail investors have lost a whole lot of money.. now ASIC and the US SEC do operate under different guidelines but ASIC is modeled on the US SEC. I'm sure if you look at high profile SEC cases you will see some similar statements.