US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, Jay Clayton, made a statement in Washington DC on January 22nd on the subject of Blockchain abuse. Warning that the SEC would be examining the compliance of companies that alter their business models purely in order to capitalise on the \"perceived promise of Distributed Ledger Technology,\" he pointed out the obvious flaws in this strategy.

Speaking at Northwestern University\'s School of Law, Clayton gave the keynote address to their 45th Annual Securities Regulation Institute. He suggested that no member of the audience would deem it acceptable for a company with no \"meaningful track record\" to pursue commercial ventures based on Blockchain or DLT. Unless they offer their investors adequate disclosure, it must be suspect if they suddenly change their name to \"Blockchain-R-Us,\" he said.

\"Dabbling\" in blockchain tech and ICOs was also discussed in the address, with particular reference to lawyers. Clayton said he found it \"most disturbing\" that some lawyers appear to be involved in Initial Coin Offerings, structuring them to resemble a proper securities offering (IPO) under the guise of the ICO. Some lawyers also seem to be offering \"equivocal advice\" on Blockchain use cases, whether or not the token issued has any resemblance to a legal security.