The president of the SEC recognizes the fundraising potential of ICOs

The president of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, recognized the potential of the first coin offerings as a fund-raising method, but also warned that "securities laws must be followed".

As reported on the Coindesk Industry website, last week Clayton spoke about the progress of the SEC in 2018 and of the Commission's regulatory agenda for the coming year. As for token sales, he said: "I believe that ICOs can be effective ways for entrepreneurs and others to get capital".

However, the SEC president also reported that the regulator will continue to enforce the securities rules when appropriate. "The new technological nature of an ICO does not change the fundamental point that when security is offered, our securities laws must be followed," he said.

Last month the SEC ordered the ICO, CarrierEQ and Paragon Coin projects to register their tokens as securities and repay investors, among other sanctions. The move contributed to the large criptovalute sale that took place in mid-November.

"Numerous concerns have been raised about the digital assets and markets of ICOs, including, as they currently operate, there is an investor protection substantially lower than the traditional equity and fixed income markets, with consequently more opportunities for fraud and manipulation, "Clayton said on Friday.

Meanwhile, Ethereum, which is the main platform for ICO, has seen some relief over the weekend, with the price of its native token that has seen some gains after a busy Friday session. The token ended Sunday's session at $ 95.14, starting the day at $ 92.04. However, the currency has lost all this progress in today's session.

As of 15:13 GMT, the price of Ethereum was $ 91.88, according to data from the Coinmarkecap digital tracker. The digital currency has lost 5.5% in the last 24 hours.

For more information on how to buy and trade Ethereum, see our comprehensive Ethereum guide.