"Until poker chips and monopoly money are securities, the statement that "all tokens are securities" has no intellectually honest leg to stand on."  -- Stan Larimer

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## Letter from Stan

**Greetings Fellow Innovators,**

It is my opinion that state and federal authorities don’t understand us. Instead of appreciating our entrepreneurial efforts and contributions to society, they fear us because of the bad acts of a few outsiders and the revolutionary nature of our innovations. 

As you know, in recent days many investigations have been launched and cases filed against some in the community.  We do not believe that regulators are attacking the industry out of malice, but from a lack of understanding. I believe it is important that we invest in defending ourselves competently against investigations and cases that are not well founded and that may set a far reaching precedent that could affect negatively the industry as a whole.  

Further, reform is needed in how regulators treat members of our industry who have the fundamental right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.  We have created a [**New Bill of Rights**](http://defendtheblockchain.com/a-new-bill-of-rights/) to help explain the revered original document to modern day authorities that may have forgotten their oaths to support and defend the Constitution.

I have established a legal defense trust for our community.  It has been created with the intent of defending the blockchain community as a whole (not just BitShares) from cases brought from misunderstandings by regulators. These regulators often lack the comprehension of the technology (and noble philosophical underpinnings) of the industry.  Unfortunately, that lack of understanding could have vast unintended consequences. 

More importantly, the Trust will lobby for fundamental reforms in how our regulatory agencies do business with an eye to restoring respect for our constitutionally guaranteed human rights.

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As the Community Defense Trust grows, we hope to come to the aide of many who are victims of unrestrained government power.  However the Trust is not limited to defending against unfair government practices and violations of individual rights.  **We are equally concerned about defending the community against private individuals who seek to get others in trouble with the authorities by spreading malicious defamation and bogus charges against them.**  Thus, the Trust is chartered to deter such behavior by taking legal action in especially egregious cases, such as the [Bitcoin Latina Scandal](https://steemit.com/bitshares/@stan/bitcoin-latina-market-manipulation-caught-in-the-act), where [bad behavior](https://steemit.com/bitshares/@stan/john-gotts-just-violated-the-crypto-code-of-the-hills) on the part of its founder is an obvious case that could require legitimate government intervention.

But the current main objective of this fund is to support the defense of Jared Rice in the case filed by the SEC ( SEC vs Arise Bank, Jared Rice Sr., and Stanley Ford, 3-18 CV-186-M) in Dallas, Texas. Jared Rice is principally a programmer and coder, who is facing questionable charges of conducting a fraudulent unregistered offering. In this potential [Trial of the Century](https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@stan/sec-v-arise-the-trial-of-the-century) much more is at stake than Jared's freedom.  It is imperative that Jared Rice have available to him the services of lawyers who specialize in defending individuals against the SEC for the sake of the legal precedents that may be established if it all goes horribly wrong. 

To date the Trust has raised and provided over $200K to partially cover the services of Edward T. M. Garland of the Garland, Samuel & Loeb Law Firm.  But much more help is needed.  If Jared cannot present his case in a way that the SEC understands, he may face severe penalties and be prevented from participating in the future in any blockchain business. THIS IS A THREAT TO ALL OF US.  To that end, I seek your help and ask for your donations to pay for hiring such SEC specialists and mounting a vigorous defense of our industry.  

Remember, if it can happen to anybody, it can happen to you!

Sincerely,

**Stanley J. Larimer, Trustee**
BitShares Community Defense Trust
defendtheblockchain.com

## Visit [Defend the Blockchain.com](http://defendtheblockchain.com) to learn how you can help!

http://defendtheblockchain.com/
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