A few months ago, in our client alert titled “Mr. Bitcoin Goes to Washington,” we discussed the cryptocurrency industry’s significant political resurgence in the wake of the 2024 election. We not only forecasted a more...more
A rising tide does not necessarily lift all boats when it comes to increasing compliance in the world of crypto asset investments. In fact, the existence of a bull market or a seemingly friendly regulatory environment can...more
The SEC’s effort to revamp the SEC’s approach to crypto assets and the blockchain industry is well underway. After forming a Crypto Task Force in the week of the administration, the SEC has been gathering input on the future...more
3/20/2025
/ Asset Tokens ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Investors ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The SEC recently announced the creation of a Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit (CETU) that will focus on fraudulent conduct in cybersecurity, digital assets, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. For...more
On the campaign trail, then-candidate Trump made promises that he would prioritize the crypto industry. Expecting these promises to be fulfilled, the prices of many notable crypto assets jumped after his election. Now,...more
Earlier this month, the SEC brought accounting fraud charges in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the CEO, CFO, and Audit Committee Chair of Kubient, a company that purported to use AI...more
9/25/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Audit Committee ,
CEOs ,
CFOs ,
Corporate Governance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Targeted Digital Advertising ,
Technology Sector
Dually registered, or “dual hat,” investment advisers are already well aware of the extensive obligations imposed by the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”). But for others, the finalization of a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network...more
Earlier this week, the SEC announced an enforcement sweep charging seven public companies with violating the whistleblower protections rule in various employment-related agreements. These charges reflect the SEC’s continuing...more
9/12/2024
/ Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Supreme Court’s most recent term has forced the SEC to face new realities regarding its powers. As has been widely publicized, the Supreme Court’s overruling of Chevron in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo highlighted...more
8/1/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Judicial Authority ,
Jury Trial ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Seventh Amendment ,
Statutory Authority ,
Statutory Interpretation
The SEC’s high-profile litigation against SolarWinds and its Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Timothy G. Brown, reached a critical turning point on July 18, 2024, when a district court in the Southern District of...more
The SEC’s Director of Corporation Finance, Erik Gerding, recently issued two statements regarding a public company’s disclosure obligations in response to a cybersecurity incident. These remarks follow the adoption of the...more
6/27/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Form 8-K ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
SolarWinds ,
Technology
The SEC’s high-profile litigation against SolarWinds and its Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Timothy Brown, reached a critical juncture on May 15, 2024, when the parties presented oral arguments before Judge Paul...more
Earlier this month, approximately one year after releasing its proposed amendments to Regulation S-P, the SEC announced the adoption of final amendments to Regulation S-P, expanding the information protected, the policies and...more
In a sequel to FinCEN’s proposal earlier this year to extend anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act regulations to investment advisers (AML/BSA Proposal), on May 13, 2024, FinCEN and the SEC jointly issued a new Notice of...more
5/20/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Sector ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Customer Identification Program (CIP) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
NPRM ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
On March 6, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an adopting release (Release Nos. 33-11275 and 34-99678), entitled The Enhancement and Standardization of ClimateRelated Disclosures for Investors (the...more
4/1/2024
/ Annual Reports ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Final Rules ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
In its latest attempt, the U.S. Department of Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), will require certain investment advisers to implement compliance measures to detect and report suspected money...more
This week, the SEC filed a high-profile litigation asserting fraud and internal controls charges against software company SolarWinds Corporation and its Chief Information Security Officer, Timothy G. Brown, in connection with...more
11/3/2023
/ CFOs ,
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Officers ,
Cybersecurity ,
Information Security ,
Information Technology ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Security Breach
Three federal judges in the Southern District of New York sit at the center of the long-running battle between the SEC and the crypto industry, overseeing cases that may eventually bring clarity to the industry. After two...more
8/14/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Buyers ,
Coinbase ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Platforms ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Investment Contract ,
Investment Platforms ,
Popular ,
Ripple ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation ,
Sellers
On July 25, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), by a 3-2 vote, adopted final rules regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance and incident reporting by public companies (the Final...more
8/7/2023
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FCC ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Final Rules ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
XBRL Filing Requirements
A broad array of financial market participants—mutual funds, private funds, insurers, pension funds, family offices, individuals, and more—may be at risk after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) secured summary...more
Last month, Gurbir Grewal, the Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, spoke at the Financial Times Cyber Resilience Summit. During the remarks, he outlined the importance of cybersecurity and signaled that the SEC is...more
7/11/2023
/ Amended Rules ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Personal Data ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On May 15, 2023, 22 state attorneys general sent a letter to several insurance companies warning that the companies’ Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies may violate the antitrust laws. Just six weeks earlier,...more
On April 14, 2023, in Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission and the companion case Cochran v. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Supreme Court held that district courts have jurisdiction to hear structural...more
As cyber-attacks and data breaches pose an increasing threat to market participants, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has become increasingly focused on the cyber risks to the public and the market at large....more
3/29/2023
/ Compliance ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Financial Institutions ,
Personal Information ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The DOJ and SEC have made no secret of their interest in combatting potential insider trading by high-level executives misusing Rule 10b5-1 plans. Those plans provide a potential safe harbor for executives trading their...more
3/15/2023
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Analytics ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Insider Trading ,
MNPI ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Stock Trades ,
White Collar Crimes