On March 28, the staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued two press releases announcing the withdrawal of two previous advisories that reflected the agency's heightened review approach to digital asset...more
On March 28, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) rescinded Biden administration guidance related to state-chartered banks' participation in "crypto-related activities" and published a new interpretation of the...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance issued a significant statement yesterday that certain proof-of-work (PoW) mining activities do not constitute securities offerings under federal...more
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
Bitcoin and other digital assets now have a welcome home in the United States government. On March 6, President Trump signed an executive order (the March 6 Order) establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States...more
President Donald Trump's nomination of Brian D. Quintenz to serve as Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) portends a potential shift towards a more business-friendly regulatory approach to...more
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
The Trump administration is moving swiftly to reshape federal digital asset policy. On January 23, President Trump issued an executive order (Executive Order) that reverses key elements of a Biden-era federal policy framework...more
There has rarely been a larger or more widely distributed financial market that existed in a more uncertain regulatory context than cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi) at the start of 2025. In the past several...more
1/21/2025
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Securities ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Regulation
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
1/16/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
CFTC ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
IRS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
Three digital asset organizations have jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) new digital asset broker reporting rule. The complaint, filed in the Northern District of Texas on December 27,...more
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
Bitnomial Exchange, LLC (Bitnomial), a designated contract market (DCM) registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has launched a legal offensive against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),...more
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
9/12/2024
/ CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) continues to expand its regulatory reach in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, this time targeting Uniswap Labs, the developer behind a prominent decentralized exchange...more
In a victory for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a federal court has granted summary judgment in favor of the agency in its case against Sam Ikkurty and his company Ikkurty Capital LLC. The ruling, issued by...more
In a significant escalation of its crypto enforcement efforts, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against Consensys Software Inc., the developer of the popular MetaMask crypto wallet and suite of...more
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
3/14/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
As referenced in the opening scene of the 2023 Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer, Prometheus, the Greek god of forethought, is best known for stealing fire from the gods to give to humanity. As punishment, Zeus had Prometheus...more
Katten's Financial Markets and Funds Quick Take is a monthly newsletter highlighting key noteworthy developments potentially affecting financial markets and funds....more
10/24/2023
/ CFTC ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
A developer and financial backers of a renowned decentralized finance protocol cannot be held liable to private litigants for the activities of unrelated bad actors that utilized the protocol to launch and offer for sale scam...more
An offering of non-fungible tokens was deemed an unlawful offering of securities without registration by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a novel Order of first impression accepting a settlement of proposed charges...more
As the great American philosopher and baseball legend Yogi Berra once said, "The future ain't what it used to be."
Yogi was prescient (as usual) as this observation has been fulfilled by the decision of a federal court...more
Four Key Considerations Since SEC Amended Form PF -
In early May, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a final rule amending Form PF, the confidential reporting form for certain SEC-registered investment...more
6/14/2023
/ Biometric Information Privacy Act ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Data Privacy ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
New Legislation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Texas ,
UK ,
Whistleblowers
A framework for a potential bill that would provide (1) the Commodity Futures Trading Commission exclusive jurisdiction over digital commodity transactions occurring on or with three new types of registrants and (2) an...more