MemeCoins – Legal Assistance
How to launch your meme coin safely? Prepare the issue, sale, and all initial stages from the legal side, with peace of mind.
Legal assistance for the proper issue of meme coins on every blockchain and L2.
Legal services for launching your memecoin
Despite their apparent light-hearted aspect, memecoins have become a serious topic. The market value of the biggest memecoins ranges way above $10 billion, making it an entire subdivision of the cryptocurrency market. Subsequently, the regulation applies and memecoins projects are equally subject to crypto laws than any other token.
LegalBison has laid out the different legal aspects of a memecoins issue, sale, and community management. Below are the legal services that we can provide to your project, in order to protect the stakeholders from liability and sanctions in case of non-compliance with applicable regulations. Whether you are at the planning stage, the building stage, or have already launched, LegalBison can assist you with staying in check with the law.
- Memecoin Classification
- Memecoin Company
- Memecoin Crypto License
- For existing Memecoins
How to ensure the proper legal qualification of my memecoin?
The first question you might ask is, are meme coins illegal? The answer is: no, they are not, but some legal guidance is important for every future entrepreneur who wants to launch meme coin.
As veterans of initial coin offerings know, a cryptocurrency or token can fall into different classifications. Though the same general principles apply globally, a few tweaks in domestic law can tilt the legal qualification of crypto as being a security token, utility token, or payment token. This emphasizes the importance of basing a meme coin project within a comprehensive jurisdiction.
What LegalBison experts do, after providing you with consultation on the best options for geographic registration, is to orient you toward one of our experienced FinTech lawyers. Our legal team will then provide you with a legal opinion on the nature of your memecoin. By quoting the applicable law and confronting them to the technical aspects of your memecoin, our lawyers can both state the classification of your token and provide you with guidance on how to re-qualify it, in case the result would lead to several complications.
Most notably, this happens if a token is classified as a security token. In virtually every country, such virtual asset falls under the regulatory scope of securities, which themselves are in the jurisdictions of laws related to investment funds and financial market organizations. Compliance with these regulations absolutely makes sense in the case of crypto derivatives and actual security tokens but requires a budget and an amount of legal work that far outweighs the requirements associated with a basic payment token such as DOGE or PEPE. Non-compliance with the law would mean important sanctions for the project stakeholders.
Therefore, the legal qualification of your memecoin is important for compliance reasons, to protect your team from legal repercussions of improperly providing a financial asset without proper authorization.
Is registering a company required for memecoin projects?
If you start a project involving money, of any kind — crypto or not — then the legal responsibility (the so-called "liability" that is limited through a company) falls onto the shoulders of the natural or legal entity involved. That means that if a project is operating without a legal structure, the individuals behind the project are committing their personal liability and exposing themselves directly.
This is why in any case, registering a legal entity is important and advised. It protects team members from the liabilities that could incur in a very fast-moving industry, or from the wrongdoings of a subgroup of individuals within the team (whose liability could still be invoked if it can be proved, in most jurisdictions).
Setting up a legal entity, in the form of a company in most cases, is the key to giving an official face to a memecoin project. This gives trust to third parties, especially to the community and purchasers, and also protects the team members.
Do I need a crypto license to sell my memecoin?
A crypto license is not an imperative requirement to issue a memecoin. However, in order to sell your memecoin for fiat money, it is required. If your project goes beyond the simple emission of a funny coin, a license can be an interesting feature.
The act of selling a cryptocurrency for payment in a fiat currency such as USD or EUR requires the provision of an on-ramp, which is only possible by taking advantage of a corporate account. As of today, banks are only considering opening an account for cryptocurrency companies under the condition that they successfully secured a recognized license.
Therefore, a crypto license is only necessary in the case of sale in the fiat currency of your memecoin. LegalBison can assist with assessing the exactness of that need, depending on your vision of your project. Our legal experts would then guide you and manage the obtainment of a VASP license for selling your memecoin.
My memecoin is already live, is it too late to receive legal assistance?
The best time to prepare the legal structure of a launched memecoin was before its issue. The second best time is immediately.
Though it is perfectly legal to issue a token and sell it, such an operation can have legal implications that can entail the personal liability of the directors and team members of the project. This is why even after issuance, as long as the project is running, it is advisable to ask for legal assistance and advice.
If you are leading a memecoin project or participating in it, and just acknowledged the importance of compliance, it is not too late. Our consulting team will be glad to have a look at your memecoin and your past operations to provide you with guidance on what is the best thing to do now. Our consultations are free. Leave a request and our team will get back to you.
Your memecoin legal package
Get in touch with our team to start preparing your token sale rightfully. Ensure the legality of your operations and gain the trust of customers and banks with the assistance of LegalBison.
Examples of memecoins launched with LegalBison's assistance
At the beginning of this page, we described how LegalBison’s services could provide a memecoin project with the safety and trustworthiness required for proper recognition and compliance. How to launch meme coin with our help? Based on the experience we gathered on the ground, here are a few live cases demonstrating more concretely how LegalBison participates in your memecoin’s success.
$BISON, the memecoin with the funniest bison picture
Let’s imagine that a meme involving an amusing bison emerges. A group of individuals decides to benefit from that popular trend and launch a token making use of the meme’s picture. The BISON memecoin is born.
It’s really just to have fun, the team isn’t even trying to make money from it. The coin is a basic BSC (Binance Smart Chain) token that does absolutely nothing special and isn’t listed on any big exchanges.
What can happen, would be that the residency country of one of the team members decides to investigate the coin. Due to a few specific details, the financial authority of the country judges that this good-hearted memecoin is actually a security, a regulated financial asset. The friends who launched the token are now guilty of issuing an unregulated asset onto the market without declaring it to the authorities nor complying with the rules on such assets. The consequences can range between hefty times and imprisonment.
The smart thing to do to prevent such a situation is simply for the BISON team to request a set of legal documents crafted by LegalBison’s FinTech lawyers. One of these documents would demonstrate that the token is, according to the law, a payment token (and if not, assist the team in turning it into one). Another document would cover the terms of the token sale, providing a reassuring frame to the clients and protection to the stakeholders.
These documents are one of many legal services that LegalBison provides to crypto projects and FinTech companies.
$NOSIB, a meme coin that requires a legal structure
An absolutely hilarious meme just emerged: it’s a drawing of a bison upside down. People are joking about a “nosib” and the neologism catches on. It’s time to make a meme coin out of it.
Two friends decide to create a website and gather a community to launch an exciting new token: $NOSIB. This is a basic payment token, as LegalBison’s lawyers confirmed in the form of a legal opinion. However, the two friends behind the project want to give more substance to their idea and to safeguard themselves from potential liabilities, for good measure.
With the assistance of a senior consultant at LegalBison, the NOSIB duo is provided with a turnkey company registration service in a convenient jurisdiction. This legal entity becomes the official owner of the memecoin project and can now contract as such. The two entrepreneurs’ liability is no longer at stake. The creation of a legal entity is also a significant boost in confidence for the NOSIB community, as it gives an official body and a registered address to the whole operation.
$BUYSON, the political memecoin in need of a crypto license
Political-themed memecoins are becoming increasingly trendy. They are a way to speculate on the political sentiment and not just on market sentiment about economic tendencies.
Let’s imagine a parallel world where a third party and candidate are allowed to run for the presidency in the United States of America. This candidate would be the popular crypto advocate Marilyn Buyson. As a tribute (or a way to capitalize on her popularity), a group of political crypto activists launches the BUYSON memecoin, with a drawing of the presidential candidate’s face as a symbol.
The project of the political crypto activists also has a specific goal: raising funds to donate to the campaign of Mrs Buyson. After all, she promised to make Bitcoin legal tender in the USA. The idea is then to sell BUYSON coins initially for USD, as Bitcoin is not (yet) an official currency of the country and the donation will be sent to the candidate’s party in dollars.
In order for the team to proceed, they eventually require a payment gateway for processing transactions and a bank account to collect the cash payments. And as long as they do not register a company and secure a crypto license, no payment service provider and no banking institutions will accept them as their client. Subsequently, getting a crypto license becomes a mandatory step for their operation. And by calling LegalBison, our legal team won’t just provide assistance in structuring a company and getting a crypto license, but also in opening the necessary bank and payment processing accounts.
Memecoin Issuance without a Legal Entity – What could go wrong?
As covered in the three above examples, various levels of legal assistance are provided for various cases and natures of projects. We were able to design these simple stories based on the experience of our clients, on our own work, and on the publicly disclosed lawsuits against projects failing to comply with the law and ending up in major trouble. As the public is more and more paying attention and investing in cryptocurrencies, the regulatory side is catching up and raising the bar slowly to the same level as financial institutions. Though there is an old, unresolved debate about the legal nature of cryptocurrencies, some of them have already fallen into the categorization of financial assets.
Therefore, improper issue of a memecoin could result in severe legal repercussions. It is entirely possible to breach the law without any willingness for malevolence. Preparation, education, and anticipation are keys. The sanctions can range from important fines to imprisonment, as the personal liability of the project members can be engaged by the prosecutor.
LegalBison can clear out the legal risks by first acknowledging and assessing your memecoin project, and second by making suggestions and advising on how to properly set it up and have it running safely. Our legal team also takes care of any required addition to your project’s legal structure, in a turnkey fashion.
Ready-made crypto licensed company for your meme coin project
Kickstart your project and launch your memecoin with a crypto-licensed ready-made company.
Contact our team to discuss your project. A dedicated consultant will advise on the best suitable solution for your budget and vision.
Best crypto jurisdictions for memecoins
Crypto License in British Virgin Islands
on request-
0% Taxes
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Fast set-up
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Easy to start
Crypto License in Cayman Islands
on request-
0% Taxes
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Crypto-Friendly
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Minimal requirements
Crypto License in El Salvador
on request-
Bitcoin is legal tender
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Pro-crypto regulations
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High reputation
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Fastest crypto license in Asia
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Free Zone setup with no taxes
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Very simple requirements
Crypto License in Argentina
on request-
Simple framework
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Low price
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Fast VASP set-up
Crypto License in Anjouan
on request-
Very fast licensing process
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Low requirements
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Recognized by banking institutions
FAQ about our legal assistance for memecoin projects
A memecoin is a cryptocurrency whose name and symbol are based on a meme. In most cases, these projects are only created “for fun” and the token is only used for speculation. A memecoin isn’t technically sophisticated and isn’t trying to disrupt any technology. The most famous memecoin is DOGE, the DogeCoin, which is based on the funny photograph of a shibu inu dog.
Starting a meme coin doesn’t drastically differ from a traditional ICO or ITO. Naturally, most memecoins projects’ founders are focused on building a community and advertising their tokens. However, the legal aspect of launching any sort of cryptocurrency, including meme coins, should never be overlooked. As regulators and governments are increasingly becoming serious about crypto, all sorts of tokens are under the scope of regulators and lawmakers. This is why to start a meme coin properly, entrepreneurs shall seek proper legal guidance and assistance.
The cost to legally create and launch a memecoin will depend on a few aspects. We invite our readers with a memecoin project to request a free consultation with a senior expert, in order to provide you with guidance on the proper steps to take and services you need for properly launching your meme coin at a reasonable cost.
The legality of memecoins depends on various aspects, that can only be definitely assessed by a seasoned FinTech lawyer. LegalBison’s team can take a careful look at your project’s technical description, business model, and tokenomics, and provide you with a response on the legality of your memecoin project.
Get in touch with our experts
Do you have a memecoin project? Do you need help with the legal side of your operations? We’re happy to join forces!
Receive a free consultation for your memecoin project. Our expert will guide you on the legal implications of the sale or airdrop and help you draw a roadmap.
Legal experts in designing solutions for crypto licensing worldwide.
Blockchain enthusiast and expert on cryptocurrency and FinTech related laws.
