A blockchain startup Thursday filed a constitutional appeal, saying the government’s ban on initial coin offering (ICO) infringed upon its occupational freedom, property rights, equal rights, and rights of scientists.
Lawyer Park Joo-hyun, who represents the blockchain startup Presto, said, “It is understandable for the government to ban ICOs for the public interest, namely to protect investors from fraud scams, to prevent money laundering and crime financing.” “However, the ban is quite extensive.”
The appeal reflects the frustration many blockchain startups face in raising working capital for financing the development of technologies.
However, it is unclear whether the Constitutional Court will accept and review the appeal or whether the court will reject the appeal.
A group of lawyers said the court might reject the appeal because the ICO ban is the government’s policy, which is not a subject for a constitutional review.
They said even though the government banned the ICOs, blockchain startups have other ways of raising capital.
But the other groups say the Constitutional Court will accept and review the appeal as the ban has a direct impact on the rights of the people. The ban infringes upon the property rights, the freedom to do business, the right to pursue happiness through free economic activities, they said.
It may take more than one year for the Constitutional Court to make any decision.
