There are the Howey test on the Federal level, and then there is also the Risk Capital Test in several states.
Precedent can very easily go towards the direction that people have a reasonable expectation of the tokens going up in value, making them securities in the eyes of at least the Risk Capital Test. In fact club memberships became securities under this test!
Many people buy Nike shoes to go up in value. Nike Inc. purposefully limits the quantity.
Are Nike shoes therefore securities? It is an open ended question and yes where we are in this country a future court could rope something like that in too before Congress gets around to forcing regulatory clarity.
Tokens can be products. It is what you sell them for and how you sell them and how you interact with that market, and how others interact with that market, that determines if something is a security. But is isn't a single one of those factors in isolation that makes it a security.
There are the Howey test on the Federal level, and then there is also the Risk Capital Test in several states.
Precedent can very easily go towards the direction that people have a reasonable expectation of the tokens going up in value, making them securities in the eyes of at least the Risk Capital Test. In fact club memberships became securities under this test!
http://www.theselc.org/which_states_apply_the_risk_capital_t...