“Welcome to Fight Club.” Like the fighters in Fight Club, the Members Exchange (MEMX), a new fighter has entered the ring of nationally recognized securities exchanges fighting for volume. MEMX is a new exchange registered...more
The CFTC recently filed a multi-million dollar fraud action charging three individuals and three companies with fraudulently soliciting tens of millions of customers and prospective customers to open and fund off-exchange...more
On April 28, 2020, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) published an in depth report related to Fintech, titled Fintech: Overview of Innovative Financial Technology and Selected Policy Issues....more
The SEC successfully landed another blow in its ongoing battle with Blockvest, LLC for alleged securities fraud and the sale of unregistered securities. ...more
While the world at large shelters in place due to COVID-19 legal and regulatory activity of digital asset and the blockchain world is hopping. ...more
4/23/2020
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Instruments ,
Form CRS ,
FSB ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Fraud ,
Regulation BI ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
Like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid gloriously diving off a cliff, Telegram is about to take the fall and is trying to take the SEC with it. However, Telegram and supporters are making a number of important arguments in...more
Judge P. Kevin Castel of the Southern District of New York struck his gavel and hung up on Telegram’s contentious $1.7 billion initial coin offering (“ICO”). Judge Castel ruled Telegram's planned distribution of Grams...more
While most of the world was locked down, the preverbal shoe (litigation) finally dropped on Crypto companies that raised money through the sale of digital assets which are alleged to be illegal, unregistered securities...more
When we started thinking about this update, less than two weeks ago, the proposal by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to liberalize Reg A and Reg CF (as discussed below) was the biggest news on our minds…. How...more
3/19/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Capital Raising ,
Coinbase ,
Commodities ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Digital Currency ,
FinTech ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Strikeout for Bitcoin ETF -
Another ETF bites the dust. On February 26th the SEC rejected the application of NYSE Acre for the approval of an exchange traded fund sponsored by the New York firm of Wilshire Phoenix to...more
3/4/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
CFTC ,
Chapter 11 ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Commodities ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Transactions ,
GAO ,
Influencers ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Money Laundering ,
Money Transfer ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
Many crypto entrepreneurs are seeking to build decentralized networks in which a token serves as a means of exchange on, or provides access to a function of the network. In the course of building out the network, they need...more
2/14/2020
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
De Minimus Quantity Exemption ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Opportunities ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
Digital assets and Blockchain technologies which were once described as the tools of criminals, are now a key part of efforts by traditional financial services firms to transform their businesses and innovative firms looking...more
1/3/2020
/ Accredited Investors ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Mark Zuckerberg ,
Martin Act ,
No-Action Letters ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sanctions ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) ,
Technology Sector ,
Token Sales ,
Transparency ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
This BitBlog summary focuses on the continuing actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) against the issuers of noncompliant initial coin offerings (“ICOs”) and other crypto related transactions including...more
10/29/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Default Judgment ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
Ether ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Fund Managers ,
Hong Kong ,
Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (HKSFC) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Regulation A ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
Five years or so years ago, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) provided its first, and until this week, only formal advice on the taxation of cryptocurrency transactions in Notice 2014-21. This guidance, while helpful in...more
10/22/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Gains ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Transactions ,
Future Tax Treatment ,
Guidance Update ,
Income Taxes ,
Investment ,
IRS ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Virtual Currency
This summary covers the last two weeks which includes news about continued enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) involving fraudulent digital asset transactions, dismissal of a securities...more
10/2/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ether ,
Extortion ,
FBI ,
Financial Transactions ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Innovative Technology ,
Investment Adviser ,
Legal Opinion ,
Offerings ,
Popular ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rewards Programs ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Startups ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Brokers ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
This week’s summary includes updates on anti-money laundering in the crypto-friendly nation of Malta and a proposal to regulate cryptocurrency miners in the United States to help stop human trafficking....more
9/18/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bitcoin ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
France ,
Gold ,
Human Trafficking ,
IMF ,
International Finance ,
Malta ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Startups ,
Strategic Planning ,
Token Sales ,
Virtual Currency
The Polsinelli BitBlog Weekly Update begins with the U.S. Securities and Exchange (“SEC”) settlement with an issuer of securities, who managed to both illegally offer securities, and create an unlicensed exchange to trade...more
9/11/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bad Faith ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Transactions ,
FINMA ,
Illegal Trading ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Mobile Apps ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Strict Compliance ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Policies ,
Willful Violations
This week saw two items of note in the regulation of digital assets and both came out of the state of New York.
The Return of the Empire State -
A New York State Supreme Court ruled that it has personal and subject...more
8/27/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Blue Sky Laws ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Currency Exchange ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injunctions ,
IRS ,
Martin Act ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
NY Supreme Court ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Tax Liability ,
Virtual Currency
On July 26, 2019, the IRS announced that it was in the process of sending letters to over 10,000 taxpayers with a history of cryptocurrency transactions by the end of August, noting that the letters were sent to taxpayers...more
8/24/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Returns
Last week was a busy one for the SEC, and other crypto related litigation. That’s probably all we’re going to get while the battle between regulators and token issuers rages on, as Congress is not in session and many in the...more
The end of July saw continued regulatory activity in the digital assets space. This entry of BitBlog will cover some of the highlights.
1) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) continues to dole out bits of...more
8/12/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Transactions ,
FinTech ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Mt.Gox ,
NYDFS ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Token Sales ,
UK
On July 25, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Corporation Finance published a response to a no-action request submitted by Pocketful of Quarters, Inc. (“Pocketful of Quarters”)...more
As the summer continues to heat up so does the digital asset industry with two major developments.
The Libra announcement last month represented a milestone in the cryptocurrency industry....more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (“FinHub”) hosted an important public forum on Friday, May 31, 2019 at the SEC headquarters in Washington, D.C. ...more
6/21/2019
/ Capital Formation ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Innovation ,
Innovative Technology ,
Investment Management ,
Public Forum ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Despite the growth of crypto-currencies in number and use, relatively little guidance has been provided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to date related to the federal income taxation of such crypto transactions. ...more