On July 21, 2022, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed an indictment charging Ishan Wahi (Wahi), a former product manager at a large cryptocurrency trading platform (the Platform) - along with his brother Nikhil Wahi...more
7/28/2022
/ Conspiracies ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wire Fraud
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Cynthia Lummis (R- WY) introduced new proposed legislation on June 7, 2022, which would classify the vast majority of digital assets as commodities, and empower the Commodities Futures...more
6/14/2022
/ CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
FERC ,
FinTech ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Investment Contract ,
NIST ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On May 2, 2022, a putative class action was filed against a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and its members seeking to recover $55 million in cryptocurrency losses stolen during a hack into the DAO’s decentralized...more
On May 3, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the expansion of its newly styled Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit (Unit) (formerly known as the Cyber Unit), housed within its Division of...more
5/10/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Howey ,
Lenders ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Working Groups
In an Executive Order (EO) issued March 9, 2022, President Joseph Biden set out the guiding principles for US policy on digital assets and digital asset regulation, including US policy with respect to a US Central Bank...more
There is no love lost between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the crypto industry with tensions escalating over the past year. So it seems fitting that on Valentine’s Day, the SEC brought a...more
For those longing for the heady days of the cryptocurrency free-for-all, this November is proving to be the start of the winter of your discontent.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the US Securities and...more
12/6/2018
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Smart Contracts ,
Token Sales
Two important events occurred in the cryptocurrency space last week. The Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) gave a speech regarding regulators’ role in effectively supervising markets in the era...more
11/14/2018
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Last week, on September 11, 2018, a number of “firsts” occurred in the prosecution of cryptocurrency-related activities. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought its first-ever enforcement action involving a...more
On July 26, 2018, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denied an application for the Winklevoss brothers—of Facebook fame (and fortune)—to launch the first bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would allow...more