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Investment Contract Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Fenwick & West LLP

Crypto Litigation and Enforcement: Q3 2024 - Key Takeaways and Updates

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Civil and criminal litigation heated up this summer in high-profile crypto matters that will affect crypto projects moving forward. For their quarterly crypto lit update, partner David Feder and associates Rebecca...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Howey Test for Crypto Asset Transactions Analyzed in Recent Denial of Kraken's Motion to Dismiss in ND California

In a recent decision in SEC v. Payward, Inc. (d/b/a “Kraken”), Judge Orrick of the Northern District of California denied Kraken's motion to dismiss the SEC's suit against it. In its complaint, the SEC alleges that Kraken...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Top 5 SEC Enforcement Developments for August 2024

Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. This month, we examine: •The SEC’s case against crypto firm Kraken is permitted to...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

SEC Reels in Fishy NFT Project

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In its third action involving NFTs, the SEC targets a restaurant membership token tied to fundraising and promises of potential price appreciation for buyers....more

Goodwin

Stablecoins Unlikely to Be Subject to the SEC’s Jurisdiction

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The recent decision in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Binance Holdings Limited et al (Binance) has cast further doubt on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) pursuit of jurisdiction over stablecoins....more

Fenwick & West LLP

Crypto Litigation & Enforcement: H1 2024  - Key Takeaways and Updates

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The beginning of this year brought several legal milestones in the world of crypto litigation and enforcement. In the first live installment of our quarterly update webinar, we discussed how...more

Fenwick & West LLP

SEC v. Binance: Court Decides Majority of Claims Can Proceed but Expresses Skepticism of SEC’s Application of Law to the...

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Of particular importance for the crypto industry, the opinion analyzes the SEC’s allegations that Binance and BAM offered and sold various tokens and programs to investors as investment contracts without registering them with...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

US House of Representatives Passes Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act

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FIT21 would provide regulatory certainty for the US digital asset ecosystem, balancing support for innovation with consumer protection....more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Ruling for SEC Clears Path for Continued Litigation in SEC v. Coinbase

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The decision, which addresses a broad range of market activity by Coinbase relating to 13 third-party tokens, could have significant implications for market participants. On March 27, 2024, Judge Katherine Failla of the US...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Another Notch in the SEC’s Belt: SEC v. Coinbase, Inc.

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Another Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) court has sided with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in its enforcement campaign against the unregistered sale of cryptocurrency assets. On March 27, 2024, in SEC...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Wyoming Adopts New Legal Structure for DAOs

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The legislation allows decentralized autonomous organizations to gain legal entity status and operate within the bounds of applicable law. ...more

Troutman Pepper

8 State AGs Argue That SEC’s Crypto Enforcement Action Is Unlawful

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On February 29, the state of Montana, supported by seven other states, filed an amicus brief arguing that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lacks authority to regulate crypto assets. The attorneys general (AG)...more

Cornerstone Research

Number of Securities Class Action Settlements Falls as Median Settlement Amount Reaches Highest Level Since 2010

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The number of securities class action settlements declined 21% relative to 2022, following the 15-year high set in 2022, according to a new report released today by Cornerstone Research. Despite the decline in settlement...more

Troutman Pepper

Inside Look: The SEC’s Enforcement Action Against Cryptocurrency Exchange Kraken

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On November 20, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) instituted a civil enforcement action against Kraken, a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange. The SEC alleged Kraken operated as an unregistered broker, dealer,...more

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co.

SEC Signals Intent to Regulate NFTs

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This past August, the US Securities and Exchange Commission took enforcement action against Impact Theory, a US media company that sold NFTs called “KeyNFTs.” It filed a second enforcement action shortly thereafter, against...more

Goodwin

SEC’s ATS Re-proposal Doubles Down on DeFi and Digital Asset Regulation

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In April 2023, the SEC re-proposed amendments to Exchange Act Rule 3b-16 to expand the definition of what it means to be an exchange. When the SEC initially proposed these amendments in January 2022, there were zero direct...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

SEC’s Request for Interlocutory Appeal of Favorable Rulings for Ripple Labs’ Defendants Rejected Based on Well-Settled Law

On October 3, 2023, a federal court denied the Securities and Exchange Commission’s request to certify for appeal the same court’s decision (Initial Decision) granting Ripple Labs, Inc.’s and two principals’ motion for...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

SEC’s First Two NFT Enforcement Actions Cast Shadow of Ambiguity

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The Securities and Exchange Commission recently brought its first two enforcement actions against issuers of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), resulting in cease-and-desist orders, penalties and other remedies, finding that the...more

Paul Hastings LLP

Public Company Watch: September 2023

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In the September edition of our Public Company Watch, we cover key issues impacting public companies, including the SEC’s new C&DIs and sample comment letter; considerations for issuers as they start their Form 10-Q...more

A&O Shearman

SEC charges Impact Theory for unregistered offering of NFTs

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On August 28, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged Impact Theory, LLC (“Impact Theory”), a media and entertainment company headquartered in Los Angeles, with conducting an unregistered securities...more

Jones Day

SEC Brings Its First Enforcement Action Against Non-Fungible Token Sellers

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Two SEC commissioners dissented and urged the Commission to provide further guidance on non-fungible tokens ("NFTs")....more

Mayer Brown Free Writings + Perspectives

For the First Time, the US SEC Sanctions an NFT Issuer for Selling Unregistered Securities in SEC v. Impact Theory

In a published settlement of the charges on August 28, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) stated that non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) issued by Impact Theory, LLC (“Impact”) were “securities” under US...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

SEC Finds NFT to Be a Security in Landmark Action

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Summary - The SEC’s focus on the crypto industry expanded this week to include non-fungible tokens (NFTs). In its first NFT-enforcement action, the SEC settled with Impact Theory, a media and entertainment company, over...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

The SEC’s First NFT Enforcement Action: SEC v. Impact Theory

Key Points - On August 28, 2023, the SEC charged Impact Theory, LLC, a media company with an unregistered securities offering through its sale of NFTs. This marks the first time that the SEC has brought an enforcement action...more

Dechert LLP

The Southern District of New York Splits on Whether a Digital Token is a “Security”

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In the latest decision evaluating the application of federal securities laws to the digital asset context, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) ruled in favor...more

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