Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Jan. 7, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie has gone from being under the public glare of NBA fans to being under financial regulatory scrutiny when he decided to launch a blockchain investment vehicle earlier this month.

DREAM Fan Shares is Dinwiddie's blockchain-powered investment platform that allows accredited investors to purchase one of 90 SD8 crypto coins for $150,000 each. The three-year bond will fetch the investor a monthly 4.95% base interest and will mature by 2023. After a year, the token is tradeable, according to media reports.

The investments allow Dinwiddie to collect the value of his three-year $34 million contract up front and allows some fans to interact uniquely with a NBA player. He's selling his securities under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 506(c), which allows issuers to broadly solicit and advertise their offering, if the investors meet certain criteria.

Notably, all investors must be an "accredited investor," which the SEC defines as an individual or joint net worth of $1 million or earning a $200,000 income in the last two years. 

Though a 506(c) offering isn't required to register with any state-level regulators, Carlton Fields of counsel Andrew Hinkes said DREAM Fan Shares is governed by some regulations. Specifically, it's required by federal law to obtain information confirming investors are qualified, plus it's governed by federal and state anti-money laundering and fairness laws.

While the lawyers contacted for this article were not privy to the details of DREAM Fan Shares, they noted critical risks, exemptions and purchase and sale descriptions would be listed in the offering memorandum. Given the potential for career- or season-ending injuries or off-the-court actions that could jeopardize an athlete's contract, those risks would have to be clear. 

"Even guaranteed contracts have breach clauses," noted Hogan Lovells partner and U.S. blockchain and distributed ledger technology practice leader Ted Mlynar. "I assume if he does something terrible that there is some way for the contract to be rescinded or canceled by the NBA. That would be a matter of disclosure in the offering documents, so presumably all of those types of issues are being addressed in the offering contracts and lays out the risks that are inherent in this type of investment."

The NBA would also want to ensure it has no liability to SD8 token-holders, Hinkes added. If Dinwiddie's play dwindles because of a suspension, for example, his ability to pay back investors could suffer and investors could look to the NBA for repayment, Hinkes said.

"That seems to be problematic to the NBA. They wouldn't, in my view, want those token-holders looking at the NBA and say, 'Your actions harmed me' and potentially be subject to a claim," Hinkes said.

While such endeavors are new and held to additional regulations and legal drafting, lawyers say this may kick-start a wave of similar transactions. For corporate and securities boutique Kelman PLLC co-founder Zachary Kelman, the availability and cost-effectiveness of blockchain technology encourages follow-up transactions.

"With this blockchain technology you just need a few financial engineers, you need some lawyers to draft the contract, but the blockchain allows a built-in software that tracks all the transactions and one basic contract to govern in," Kelman said.

Participants not only save lawyer or record-keeping fees, they also gain a unique element of professional sports.

"He's going to his fans and asking for a loan and he's securing it with his income stream. But what that does is, it ties his fans to him even more closely, and that's the exciting part of it," Mlynar added.

While Dinwiddie is currently averaging 22 points per game, seven assists and three rebounds on a team riddled with high-profile injuries, it may present a win-win for NBA enthusiasts and athletes that want their paychecks right away.

"Fame is fleeting and this allows a professional athlete to capitalize on this more quickly," Mlynar said. "If you only have five minutes of fame, it's better to get the money up front."