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That's by design. If there's equity or promise of profits, it automatically trigger the 'it's a security' lever. The SEC DAO paper (linked below) acknowledges the same.

Your point that many are 'forced into the blockchain' to get an ICO is 100% correct.

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>>That's by design. If there's equity or promise of profits, it automatically trigger the 'it's a security' lever.

That is not true. There are other components to the Howey Test besides expectation of profit. The DAO was one of the most security-like token issued so far, and the DAO investigative report went over how the SEC believed it met all the conditions for classification as a security. Securities laws might not apply to a great many other tokens.

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