In the span of two days, June 5 and June 6, 2023, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commenced proceedings against the largest crypto asset exchange in the world, Binance.com; its affiliated US exchange,...more
6/14/2023
/ Coinbase ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Investment Contract ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Trading Platforms ,
Unregistered Securities
On July 12, 2022, Twitter, Inc. brought a civil action in the Delaware Court of Chancery against Elon Musk, the co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, Inc., for breach of contract in an attempt to force Musk to complete his...more
7/28/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Breach of Contract ,
Class Action ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Elon Musk ,
Gaming ,
Insider Trading ,
Merger Agreements ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Specific Performance ,
Spoofing ,
Twitter
On July 21, 2022, the SEC charged three individuals with insider trading of digital assets via a scheme to trade ahead of multiple announcements regarding crypto assets being made available on a United States-based digital...more
7/25/2022
/ Criminal Conspiracy ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Indictments ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wire Fraud
On June 29, 2022, Grayscale Investments, LLC petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for review of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s June 29, 2022 final order disapproving of an October...more
7/14/2022
/ Accredited Investors ,
Bitcoin ,
Breach of Duty ,
Caremark claim ,
CFTC ,
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud ,
Futures ,
Insider Trading ,
Investors ,
NYSE ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Trading Platforms
On June 14, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a securities suit brought by investors in pharmaceutical company, Amarin Corporation, PLC, holding that the investors had failed to...more
7/1/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Board of Directors ,
Class Action ,
Dismissals ,
False Statements ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Misleading Statements ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Subpoenas
On April 27, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery in In re Tesla Motors Stockholder Litigation rendered a post-trial verdict finding for Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, Inc., on claims that Musk breached his...more
5/18/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Breach of Contract ,
Broadband ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Charter Communications ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Delaware General Corporation Law ,
Elon Musk ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Institutional Investors ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Tesla ,
Time Warner ,
Twitter
SEC Proposes Rule Amendments Requiring Climate-Related Disclosures; Southern District of New York Dismisses Securities Fraud Claims Against U.S. Stock Exchanges for Lack of Standing; Southern District of New York Dismisses...more
4/6/2022
/ Article III ,
Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dismissals ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investors ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Standing ,
Stock Exchange
District Court Denies Payday Lender's Bid To Dismiss SEC Enforcement Action; Delaware Chancery Court Dismisses Camping World Insider Trading Derivative Suit; California Federal Judge Certifies Class Of Apple Common-Stock...more
3/14/2022
/ Apple ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Class Certification ,
Common Stock ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fines ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investors ,
iPhone ,
Lenders ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
Payday Loans ,
Penalties ,
Promissory Notes ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Transactions ,
Securities Violations ,
Stock Options ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
IN THIS ISSUE -
Eleventh Circuit Overturns Dismissal of Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme Class Action Suit; Federal Court of Appeals Dismisses Leading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Shareholder Lawsuits; NY Seeks Blockchain...more
3/9/2022
/ Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Banking Sector ,
Blockchain ,
Breach of Duty ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Civil Conspiracy ,
Class Action ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Financial Services ,
Derivative Suit ,
Dismissals ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fannie Mae ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Mootness Fee Applications ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
Reversal ,
Russia ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Supplemental Disclosures ,
Tortious Interference ,
Virtual Currency
The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint against Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”) and two of its executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, on December 22, 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the...more
1/26/2021
/ Blockchain ,
Corporate Executives ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Popular ,
Ripple ,
Section 5 ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Unregistered Securities
The SEC, in one of the Commission’s final acts under the leadership of Chair Jay Clayton, approved enforcement action aimed at Ripple Labs, Inc. (“Ripple”) and two of its executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. The...more
On October 8, 2020, the Attorney General’s Cyber Digital Task Force announced the release of a publication entitled Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework (the “Enforcement Framework”). The Enforcement Framework describes...more
10/12/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Financial Institutions ,
Jurisdiction ,
Money Laundering ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tax Avoidance
In 2018, Telegram - which was formed in 2013 and quickly became known for its Telegram Messenger app - sold $1.7 billion worth of Grams to 175 entities and high net-worth individuals (the “Initial Purchasers”). Telegram and...more
In a recent decision in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Telegram Group Inc. and TON Issuer Inc., the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted a motion for a preliminary injunction by...more
Meghan Spillane is a partner in Goodwin’s Securities Litigation and White Collar Defense group, and a member of its Digital Currency + Blockchain Technology practice. She specializes in advising companies on regulations...more
On February 20, 2019, the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an Order Instituting Cease-And-Desist Proceedings Pursuant To Section 8a Of The Securities Act Of 1933, Making...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally provided some good news, and guidance, regarding permissible token sales. On June 14, 2018, William Hinman, Director of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance, speaking at...more
In the wake of the SEC’s clarifying guidance in Munchee regarding the application of the federal securities laws to initial coin offerings (“ICOs”), there has been increased activity among both federal and state regulators as...more
On December 11, 2017, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a cease-and-desist order to Munchee Inc. (Munchee), a company that was in the process of a $15 million initial coin offering (ICO), for selling...more