News & Analysis as of

Digital Assets Howey Token Sales

Wiley Rein LLP

Podcast: Is Cryptocurrency a Security (like an orange grove)?

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In the first episode of the CryptoCounsel at Wiley, hosts Josh Simmons and Frank Scaduto discuss the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency regulation, focusing on recent disputes and the challenges posed by the SEC's...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Ruling for SEC Clears Path for Continued Litigation in SEC v. Coinbase

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The decision, which addresses a broad range of market activity by Coinbase relating to 13 third-party tokens, could have significant implications for market participants. On March 27, 2024, Judge Katherine Failla of the US...more

Dechert LLP

The Southern District of New York Splits on Whether a Digital Token is a “Security”

Dechert LLP on

In the latest decision evaluating the application of federal securities laws to the digital asset context, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) ruled in favor...more

Cornerstone Research

Analyzing Blockchain Transactions To Understand and Establish Fact Patterns

Cornerstone Research on

Blockchain analysis is a powerful tool that provides insight into what is happening on a blockchain network. Who is trading with whom? Which wallets are most active on decentralized finance exchanges? Which wallets are...more

Holland & Knight LLP

A Ripple of Doubt

Holland & Knight LLP on

Specifically, the SEC wants a change to persuade the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit – now, not later – of its view that Torres got it wrong when she determined that the company's offer and sale of its XRP token...more

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co.

Crypto as a Security – Applying the Howey Test

A US court recently handed down a landmark ruling addressing the question of whether the crypto token XRP falls under the definition of “security”. The US court ruled that the same crypto token may be classified differently...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Judges in the Southern District of New York Divided on Whether a Token Is a Security: SEC v. Terraform Labs and SEC v. Ripple Labs

Key Point - Just shy of three weeks after Judge Torres held that the digital asset XRP is not itself a security,1 Judge Rakoff held that the SEC had adequately pled that certain digital assets, such as the UST and LUNA...more

Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto LLP

SDNY Order Clouds the Water on SEC Crypto Jurisdiction

On July 13th, Judge Analisa Torres of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered an order that was quickly celebrated by the crypto world (SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc., No. 20CIV10832ATSN;...more

Winstead PC

Ripple’s Legal Waves: Ripple Summary Judgment Ruling Could Have Wide-Ranging Impact

Winstead PC on

In a recent and highly anticipated decision, a court in the Southern District of New York held that Ripple’s cryptocurrency token – XRP – is not inherently a security. In a setback to the SEC, the court also held that...more

Willcox & Savage

Crypto and the SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc. Decision: What Did the Court Actually Say?

Willcox & Savage on

Earlier this month, a federal trial court judge issued an opinion ruling on whether sales of a digital token, XRP, constituted a “security” for purposes of federal securities laws. Some headlines reporting the ruling have...more

Mayer Brown Free Writings + Perspectives

Defining Digital Asset Securities: US District Court Issues Summary Judgment Rulings in SEC v. Ripple Labs

For the past several years, many have viewed “SEC v. Ripple” as one of the defining conflicts in the US crypto regulatory landscape. At the heart of this dispute is the question of whether digital tokens are “securities” for...more

Holland & Knight LLP

SEC v. Ripple: When a Security Is Not a Security

Holland & Knight LLP on

In a monumental decision that will likely have substantial ramifications for crypto industry developers, securities practitioners, and millions of investors and token purchasers alike, on July 13, 2023, the U.S. District...more

Seward & Kissel LLP

Christmas in July—Court in Ripple Case Delivers Split Verdict Hailed as Victory by Ripple

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Three days before Christmas 2020, the SEC served Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executives with a lawsuit. How is that for a present under the tree? As the SKrypto Blog reported at the time, the main issue was whether XRP, a...more

Fenwick & West LLP

SEC v. Ripple Labs: Securities Law Analysis Under Howey Applied On A Transaction-By-Transaction Basis

Fenwick & West LLP on

It’s the Transaction, Not the Token. Issuers cannot offer or sell securities without registering them with the SEC under Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 or finding a valid exemption from registration. XRP is the...more

Troutman Pepper

SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc.: XRP Considered an Unregistered Security in Institutional Sales but Not in Programmatic Sales or Other...

Troutman Pepper on

In a long-awaited decision in SEC v. Ripple Labs, Inc., U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York held that Ripple Labs, Inc.’s (Ripple) XRP token is not, in and of itself, a security requiring...more

Polsinelli

Shhhh! – SEC Wins Summary Judgment Over Library

Polsinelli on

While the blockchain crypto community is processing the latest round of “crypto contagion,” potentially lost in the busy news week was a significant legal development regarding what digital assets qualify as securities under...more

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

The SEC’s Limited Guidance on Crypto Tokens in No-Action Letters

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) has been accused of “regulation by enforcement” when it comes to the standard for determining whether a crypto token is a security. Part of this stems from the fact...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

Crypto Reform Goes to Congress: Proposed Three-Year Safe Harbor for Distribution of Pre-“Network Maturity” Digital Tokens

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Background: Crypto Catch 22 - Followers of the SEC’s efforts to regulate digital tokens will recall former SEC Corp Fin Director William Hinman’s speech at the June 14, 2018 Yahoo Finance Conference in which he introduced...more

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law

NFTs Are Interesting but Fractionalized Non-Fungible Tokens (F-NFTs) May Present Even More Challenging Legal Issues

Except for the extensive coverage surrounding Coinbase’s IPO last week and the volatility in the price of cryptocurrencies, much of the air in the crypto space in the last few months has been taken up by the meteoric rise of...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Ripple Effect: SEC Lawsuit against Cryptocurrency Company May Provide Guidance For Crypto Industry

Amundsen Davis LLC on

On December 21, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a high-profile enforcement action against a major cryptocurrency company. The SEC complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws by defendant...more

Proskauer - The Capital Commitment

Three Critical Questions That Will (Hopefully) be Answered by the SEC’s Lawsuit against Ripple

Late last year, the SEC filed a litigated action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executive officers (collectively, “Ripple”), alleging that Ripple...more

Jones Day

Court Rules That Sales of Digital Tokens Were Illegal Unregistered Securities Offerings

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Federal court grants summary judgment to the SEC on its claim that sales of digital tokens constitute investment contracts under the Securities Act. On September 30, 2020, U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein granted...more

Sullivan & Worcester

Return of the ICO? A Potential Pathway Forward

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On February 6, 2020, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce presented her proposal of a new regulatory scheme for legal ICOs in the United States (“Safe Harbor”). To date, token issuers have struggled with the U.S. Securities and...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

INSIGHT: Crypto - The Pursuit of Sufficient Decentralization

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Recent SEC guidance on digital assets cleared a path for at least certain stable coins or payment tokens to avoid securities regulation. However, Latham & Watkins attorneys say there are still a number of open questions that...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

The Yellow Brick Road for Consumer Tokens: The Path to SEC and CFTC Compliance - An Update

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Developing a framework for consumer tokens - With the rapid growth in the development of blockchain technology, virtual currencies and token sales (sometimes referred to as initial coin offerings, or ICOs), token...more

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