For more background read Josh Lawler’s article at Blockchain News.
According to an MIT report following months of negotiations with the NBA, and a recent tweet last Friday from Spencer Dinwiddie – the digital investment vehicle will launch on January 13 allowing him to sell his securities-backed SD8 tokens, which can’t be traded for a year, for $150,000 apiece to verified accredited investors under SEC Regulation D, Rule 506 (c).
“He had originally announced the plan in September but met resistance from the NBA, which said issuing the blockchain-based “tokenized security” backed by his contract was prohibited by the league’s collective bargaining agreement.”
From Twitter:
The Spencer Dinwiddie bond launches on January 13th. I’ll also be taking 8 fans to ASW with me. #NBAVote pic.twitter.com/dhXKt0qPqh
— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) January 10, 2020
What he created he said in an interview with Forbes, allows players to structure and issue debt instruments in a digital token form to invest their money how they’d like and it would function as a decentralisation of the personal loan to athletes through bonds they create with their guaranteed contracts as collateral.
Dinwiddie told Forbes that after nearly three months of delays, including a threat from the NBA to ban him from the league during negotiations, the Brooklyn Nets point guard can launch his token-based investment vehicle. Apparently, the league’s biggest objection related to the third year of his contract, which gives him leeway to opt-out and pursue a more lucrative one. He had promised investors “significant dividends” in the case he did land a richer deal in the third year. Apparently the NBA opposed that aspect, calling it gambling. Dinwiddie removed this element from the plan.
But it’s still not clear if the NBA has given the green light. When Forbes contacted the league regarding the NBA’s stance on Dinwiddie’s plan, a league spokesman released the following statement.
“Spencer Dinwiddie’s advisors provided us today with new information regarding a modified version of their digital token idea, which we are reviewing to determine whether the updated idea is permissible under league rules.”
“…Spencer Dinwiddie’s advisers have actually offered us with brand-new information about a changed form of their particular electronic token concept. We tend to be reviewing all of them to ascertain in the event that recommended improvement works with League guidelines.”
“…I’m trying to define an asset class and start it,” Dinwiddie said. “Somebody has to be brave enough to do it. Hopefully, it works and we prove that there’s a market for it. Because obviously if the NBA jumps in with both feet, they’ll be able to do some great things with it.”
“…All those things I said in there are authentic. I’m passionate about blockchain as a whole, decentralized finance as a whole. For the fans, thank you for believing in me. So really it’s just tying everybody together, kinda trying to show the community and fan base, even though the league tried to take a lot of that out, it’s really showing what it means to bring people together because we’re more powerful when we’re together.”
In October 2019, the NBA told the New York Times:
“According to recent reports, Spencer Dinwiddie intends to sell investors a ‘tokenised security’ that will be backed by his player contract. The described arrangement is prohibited by the CBA, which provides that no player shall assign or otherwise transfer to any third party his right to receive compensation from the team under his uniform player contract.”
