Thomas Linder is a Crypto Tax Lawyer from Zurich Switzerland.
He is a Partner at MME Legal. MME is not just any law firm, it is the law firm behind the historic Ethereum token sale of 2014.
Thomas was a Director at KPMG Switzerland, and is a Certified Tax Expert who graduated from the Swiss Tax Academy.
In this episode, we discuss:
– How Thomas’s law firm, MME, was the legal advisor behind the iconic Ethereum token sale over 3 years ago, as well as other projects they’ve worked on like SingularDTV – A blockchain entertainment studio
– We go over ICOs, IPOs, and crowdfunding, pointing out the critical differences between each term
– We also break down the landmark SEC Investigative Report on DAO tokens or “D-A-O” Tokens, which came out on July 25th
SHOW NOTES
[00:53] – Who is Thomas Linder and who is MME Legal? Introduction and overview
[02:53] – How Thomas and MME stumbled across Ethereum and Blockchain
[08:16] – Xapo’s legal challenges in Switzerland
[09:00] – SingularDTV’s legal structure
[11:00] – The DAO team contacts MME (and MME dodges a bullet)
[12:23] – Reviewing the SEC’s Investigative Report on The DAO Tokens, and a discussion on ICOs, IPOs, and crowdfunding
[20:20] – What’s a Token Generating Event (TGE)?
[21:17] – Thomas gives his thoughts on the classification of different types of tokens
[29:00] – Why The DAO tokens would be considered securities
[31:12] – A second look at the SEC’s Investigative Report on The DAO Tokens and the Howey Test
[39:52] – Thomas Linder’s thoughts on how rampant speculation in the ICO market will impact the space
[42:34] – The dangers of having too much money for a project
[44:32] – The main challenges Blockchain startups face
[50:13] – Thomas’s take on the Blockchain’s “killer app”
[55:41] – Are we in an ICO bubble?
[57:27] – Thomas’s 10-year prediction for Bitcoin and Ethereum
[59:18] – Thomas Linder’s parting words of wisdom to startups looking to hold ICOs
[1:02:14] – How to get in touch with Thomas and MME
[1:03:09] – Conclusion
RESOURCES DISCUSSED
– Xapo
– SEC Report (PDF link)
– Golem
– Tezos
– Lisk
– Dfinity
CONTACT INFORMATION
– MME Legal website
– Email: Thomas.Linder [at] mme.ch
Most useful interview for anybody going the ICO ‘Swiss Route’ (i.e Ethereum).