Legal

This page is a general summary. Matters that depend on the law of a particular country, including consumer-protection rules and cancellation rights, are set out in the Japanese version of this page and in the membership terms. If this page and its Japanese version differ, the Japanese version prevails.

Compliance

NBA works with outside experts to keep its business lawful and sound. For the details, please see the Compliance page.

Our approach to compliance

Legal position of the business

The NFT (digital access key): The NFTs that NBA sells are designed and operated as digital access keys that grant access to NBA’s aggregator. NBA classifies them as digital licences with no cash or exchange value, not as crypto-assets. They are not governance tokens, and holding them does not entitle the holder to any reward.
Crypto-assets: NBA does not buy, sell or exchange crypto-assets, and does not act as an intermediary, broker or agent for such transactions. Your funds go from your own wallet, through NBA’s smart contracts, directly to each DeFi protocol. Assets supplied to a DeFi protocol can be withdrawn only to your own wallet, and NBA never holds or manages your assets. Any rewards you receive arise from the mechanisms of each DeFi protocol. NBA does not pay interest or dividends.
Licences and registration: Whether a licence or registration is required depends on the law of each country and on the nature and actual operation of a service. NBA reviews the legal position of its business with legal counsel and will respond appropriately as laws and regulations develop. NBA holds no licence or registration as a crypto-asset service provider in any jurisdiction, and the services described on this website are not provided where doing so would breach applicable law.
Company: NBA is a company incorporated and registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Risk disclosure

Crypto-asset price risk: Crypto-assets can move sharply in price over short periods, and the value of your holdings may fall.
Impermanent loss: When you provide liquidity to a DeFi protocol, price movements in the pair change the value ratio of the tokens, and you may incur a loss.
Smart contract and hacking risk: A DeFi protocol you use may be hacked. The protocols NBA connects to are developed and operated by other companies, and NBA does not guarantee their audits, rates or security.
Personal wallet risk: Your own wallet may be hacked. Please keep your seed phrase and private keys strictly secure.
Stablecoin credit risk: Even stablecoins, which are often described as relatively safe, may fall in price.
Regulatory change risk: Laws on crypto-assets, DeFi and NFTs are developing quickly, and regulations may change in future.
Cross-border risk: NBA operates as a company established outside many members’ countries of residence. Your ability to enforce your rights against NBA under the laws of your country may be limited.
Transfer error risk: Assets sent to the wrong address, or on the wrong blockchain, cannot be recovered.
Private key risk: If your private keys, seed phrase, password or device information are leaked or lost, your assets cannot be recovered.

Frequently asked questions

What is the NBA NFT?: The NFTs that NBA sells are designed and operated as digital access keys that grant access to NBA’s aggregator. NBA classifies them as digital licences with no cash or exchange value, not as crypto-assets. They are not governance tokens, and holding them does not entitle the holder to any reward.
Can I cancel my purchase of an NFT?: The conditions and procedure for cancellation are set out in your membership terms. If you do not have them to hand, or have any questions, please contact us through the enquiry form.
Do I deposit assets with NBA?: No. Your funds go from your own wallet, through NBA’s smart contracts, directly to each DeFi protocol. Assets supplied to a DeFi protocol can be withdrawn only to your own wallet, and NBA never holds or manages your assets. Any rewards you receive arise from the mechanisms of each DeFi protocol. NBA does not pay interest or dividends.
Who can I talk to if I have concerns?: Members and their families alike can contact us through the enquiry form.
Which version of this page applies?: If this page and its Japanese version differ, the Japanese version prevails.

Glossary

Plain explanations of the main terms used on this website and in DeFi, with the points that matter legally. They are general descriptions to aid understanding, not legal, tax or investment advice, and not an interpretation of any law.

DeFi (decentralized finance): Financial services such as exchange, lending and liquidity provision, delivered by smart contracts on public blockchains, without a central intermediary that holds users’ assets.
DeFi aggregator: An interface that brings several independent DeFi protocols together so they can be compared and used in one place. The aggregator does not operate the protocols itself; transactions are executed on each protocol, from the user’s own wallet.
Farming: Supplying liquidity to a DeFi protocol and receiving, in exchange, the rewards the protocol sets under its own rules. Rewards vary and are not guaranteed, and the assets supplied carry the risks described in the Risk disclosure.
Self-custody: Keeping and managing crypto-assets in your own wallet, with your own private keys and seed phrase. Anyone who knows the key can move the assets, and a lost key generally cannot be recovered.
Smart contract: A program on a blockchain that runs automatically when set conditions are met. Even after an audit, it may contain defects or be attacked, and transactions it executes generally cannot be reversed.
Liquidity provision: Supplying crypto-assets to a pool on a DEX or lending protocol so that others can trade or borrow. It carries risks including price movements, impermanent loss and smart contract failure.
Reward: An incentive that a DeFi protocol grants to liquidity providers and other participants under its own rules. It is not paid by NBA and is not interest. The amount is neither fixed nor guaranteed.
Impermanent loss: The shortfall that can arise, compared with simply holding the tokens, when the price ratio of the two tokens in a liquidity pool changes.
Stablecoin and de-pegging: A stablecoin is a crypto-asset designed to track the value of a reference asset such as the US dollar. Moving away from that value is called de-pegging. Stablecoins can also fall in price.
Liquidation: The forced sale of collateral by a protocol when the value of a position that involves borrowing falls below a set level. It usually comes with a penalty.
DAO: A decentralized autonomous organization: one that is run, and makes its decisions, through rules recorded on a blockchain and the votes of its participants.
Real-world assets and tokenization: Physical assets such as real estate or commodities, and the representation of rights to them as tokens. Depending on the rights involved, such tokens may be subject to securities or other regulation. Nothing on this website is an offer of any such right.