Why BITINDI CHAIN (BNI) Token Is Not A Security

We are often asked whether or not the Bitindi Chain token (BNI) is security.

Bitindi Chain has received legal opinions from leading attorneys covering India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, stating that the BNI token is not a security.

We are a legal firm specializing in the emerging field of cryptocurrency law and acting as corporate counsel for numerous high-profile ICO (initial coin offering) transactions, including Bitindi Chain.

The legal opinion concludes:

“We conclude that the BNI token would not be deemed to meet the definition of security and, accordingly, that the securities laws would not apply to the initial distribution and subsequent trading of BNI tokens.”

In the decision, the Howey test as the primary standard for determining whether or not a given cryptocurrency token is a security, or not, stating:

“The applicable Supreme Court case for determining whether an instrument meets the definition of security is SEC v. Howey, 328 U.S. 293 (1946). The Supreme Court has reaffirmed the Howey analysis as recently as 2004 in SEC v. Edwards, 540 U.S. 398 (2004). The Howey standard applies to blockchain tokens and ICOs as well.”

The decision then addresses the four criteria outlined in the Howey test, point by point.

One pertinent passage highlights exactly why the Bitndi Chain token is not a security, per the fourth point of the Howey test, which requires that a given (token, in this case) have any increase in value occur “solely through the effort of others.”

“If BNI token holders have rights to validate transactions in the Bitindi Chain platform, to vote on issues related to the selection and management of tokenized offerings, and to generally actively participate in Bitindi Chain platform operations and derive active income from their efforts, then there is no expectation of profits solely from the efforts of others.”

And, per the rights described in the Bitindi Chain Whitepaper, BNI token holders certainly do have such rights:

BNI tokens are essentially membership certificates in the Bitindi Chain Platform, which give the following rights and privileges to their owners provided compliance with KYC/AML policies of Bitindi Chain and proof of member activity confirmed by running a Bitindi Chain node on the member’s computer:

After a successful token fair launch, an agreed portion of the tokens are released to BNI token holders proportionately.

Commissions from decentralized platform fees are distributed to the BNI token holders. The voting of the BNI token holders determines the size of this fee.

BNI token holders also participate in votes to decide various actions taken with respect to the property: platform listing decision, listing fee approval, law firm choice, management company choice (property tokenization), property for rent approval, and rental fee approval.

There is also the ability to work and earn extra income, within the framework of Bitindi Chain.

BNI token holders also have an influence on the platform and the ability to propose, vote on and aid further developments to improve the efficiency of real estate globally, as well as boost Bitindi Chain’s global adoption and growth.

Token holders agree upon every decision taken within the blockchain platform, affecting deFi and other blockchain-related services, by the use of a voting mechanism. BNI token holders vote for or against the proposals created by the most reputable token holders, covering all activities within the platform.

Per both of these decisions, it is clear that the Bitindi Chain token is not a security as defined by relevant law in India, the United States, the United Kingdom, or European Union.

ABOUT BITINDI CHAIN

Bitindi Chain’s main goal is to create a user-centric sustainability-driven ecosystem, and it is able to achieve this by having sustainability embedded inside the Bitindi Chain consensus mechanism and runtime logic.

Thus, making sure that sustainable participation in the network or in the real world is highly incentivized.

For additional details, and/or to participate in Bitindi Chain Project, please visit www.bitindi.com.