For nearly two decades since its enactment in 2005, PCAOB Rule 3502 prohibited any “person associated with a registered public accounting” firm from taking or omitting to take an action knowingly or recklessly in a way that...more
9/11/2024
/ Accounting Standards ,
Amended Rules ,
Auditors ,
Audits ,
Ethics ,
Liability ,
Negligence ,
PCAOB ,
Professional Liability ,
Proposed Rules ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On Aug. 7, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued its judgment in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs, Inc., marking the end of district court- level proceedings in the highly...more
8/12/2024
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Pending Litigation ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Popular ,
Ripple ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Unregistered Securities
On Thursday, June 27, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, held that the Seventh Amendment entitles a defendant to a jury trial in instances where the SEC seeks civil penalties against that defendant for alleged securities...more
7/3/2024
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Jury Trial ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Regulation ,
Seventh Amendment
Director of Enforcement of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) Gurbir Grewal warns of the risks surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) related disclosures and puts investment advisers and public...more
On April 2 and 3, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) presented its annual SEC Speaks program in conjunction with PLI, where senior members of the Commission provided updates on the current...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC or Commission) Division of Enforcement continues to be laser focused on executive perks and the manner in which they are disclosed by public companies. The SEC is expected to...more
The new flexible work environment created in the post-pandemic years poses unique challenges for companies and individuals who work outside a traditional office. The SEC knows this and is actively enforcing the securities...more
Chair Gensler Continues to Be Outspoken About the Risks of AI Technologies -
Chair Gensler’s warnings of the potential risks associated with the use of AI technologies in the securities industry recently continued with...more
Crypto Firms Announce Initiatives in Payments, Mining, DAOs and More -
Recent reports provided details on new developments across the cryptocurrency market...more
Financial Services Firms Expand Cryptocurrency Custody Services -
According to recent reports, the cryptocurrency custody arm of a major international bank has launched its institutional cryptocurrency custody services in...more
9/18/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFTC ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
IOSCO ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Ripple ,
Scams ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Theft ,
Virtual Currency ,
Wash Trades
SWIFT Publishes Blockchain Pilot Findings; Firms Announce USDC Integrations -
According to a recent press release, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) recently published a report with...more
9/11/2023
/ Accounting Standards ,
AML/CFT ,
Asia Pacific ,
Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ETFs ,
Fair Market Value ,
FASB ,
FATF ,
Financial Stability Board ,
Hong Kong ,
Information Reports ,
International Monetary Fund ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The settlements announced by the SEC and CFTC on Monday are a continuation of the regulators’ focus on off-channel communications by employees of registered entities....more
8/11/2023
/ Books & Records ,
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Data Preservation ,
Data Retention ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hedge Funds ,
Mobile Apps ,
Private Equity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Settlement ,
Swap Dealers
Chair Gensler’s Public Statements Warning of AI’s Impact on Securities Industry -
In his speech before the National Press Club, Chair Gensler focused on the tremendous opportunities AI technology presents but cautioned...more
8/8/2023
/ Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Data Privacy ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Investment Adviser ,
Machine Learning ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Statements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Join BakerHostetler for our series of Fireside Chats about the latest developments impacting the capital markets and their participants, and the blockchain industry....more
7/12/2023
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Markets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Popular ,
SEC Commissioner ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Webinars
In Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC and SEC v. Cochran, the respondents in administrative agency enforcement actions brought suit in federal district court, challenging the constitutionality of each respective agency’s attempt to...more
Background and Scope -
The Assessment was drafted by Treasury’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes (“TFFC”), in consultation with multiple U.S. agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security,...more
On Wednesday, March 1 the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its first-ever prosecution of an individual for insider trading based on an executive’s use of 10b5-1 trading plans. Terren Peizer, the executive chairman of...more
3/8/2023
/ 10b5-1 Plans ,
Amended Regulation ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Form 8-K ,
Indictments ,
Insider Information ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
On Feb. 7, 2023, the Division announced its 2023 examination priorities. These priorities, updated and published annually, provide insights into the Division’s prioritization of certain practices, products and services in its...more
Mango Markets is a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to purchase and borrow cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency-related financial products. Mango Markets is run by the Mango Decentralized Autonomous...more
2/27/2023
/ CFTC ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Platforms ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Market Manipulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trading Platforms ,
Wire Fraud
The SEC’s Complaint -
According to the SEC’s complaint, Kraken offered and sold its staking services to the general public in which participants could transfer crypto assets to Kraken in exchange for “advertised annual...more
Reports Address Crypto Ownership, Stablecoins and Dapp Adoption -
Recent reports provide new data on various areas of the digital asset market. In one report, a survey published by a cryptocurrency trading platform found...more
1/30/2023
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
New Guidance ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
NYDFS ,
Request For Information ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
Paper Explores Benefits of DeFi for FX; Australian Bank Launches Stablecoin -
A recent industry paper found that DeFi can reduce costs and enhance transparency in foreign exchange (FX) markets. The paper concludes that...more
1/23/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FinCEN ,
Online Platforms ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance (CorpFin) recently issued guidance (Guidance), including a “Dear Issuer” Sample Letter (Sample Letter) to assist companies in meeting their...more
New Research and Surveys Address CBDCs, Institutional Crypto Investment -
Staff from the board of governors of the U.S. central bank recently published a research paper addressing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)....more
12/5/2022
/ Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin Mining ,
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Collection ,
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Wallets ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Money Laundering ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
USPTO
New Crypto Products Launch in Custody, Cloud Collaborations and Stablecoins -
This week, a major U.S. financial institution announced that its Digital Asset Custody platform is now live in the United States. According to...more
10/17/2022
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Stability Board ,
FinCEN ,
Fines ,
Government Investigations ,
Hackers ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
OECD ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
Statutory Violations