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I'm not convinced a presale of a currency falls under the same regulations as equity in a company.

>I'm not convinced a presale of a currency falls under the same regulations as equity in a company.

BTC isn't a currency in US. I'm kind of curious where SEC draws the line, if any, when somebody sells some interest in some virtual artifact - say a website or a Farmville plot of land - in exchange for some other virtual artifact - say BTC or ISK.

Ok not legally a "currency" according to the IRS, but still a product, rather than a share in a company or a bond.

The SEC doesn't get involved in Farmville plots of land, any more than it gets involved in physical real estate. It's not involved if I sell you a gold coin or rare stamp, even if you hope to resell at a profit.

Cryptocurrencies seem more analogous to these things, rather than equities, debts, profit-sharing agreements, or anything else in the SEC's official definition of a security:

http://www.thestreet.com/topic/47042/securities.html

It definitely falls under money transmission - which could be worse as far as penalties go

Not entirely convinced of that either. You're doing less than exchanges, and only converting in one direction. I'd definitely check with a lawyer, of course.

But in any case, lots of Bitcoin companies successfully navigate money-transmission laws already.

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